»Expanding on all fronts«: Georgia Ports Authority has announced record cargo volumes, infrastructure development and two new customers bringing a combined 1 mill. square feet of additional distribution center space to Savannah.
During his annual State of the Port Address, Georgi[ds_preview]a Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch, said: »We‘re expanding on all fronts. We‘re adding market share through organic growth and the addition of new accounts, and we‘re building the new infrastructure necessary to continue processing this cargo with world-class efficiency.«
GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch delivers his State of the Port address Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017 (Photo: GPA)
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, who attended the event hosted by the Savannah Propeller Club, credited the Authority Board and the GPA team for achieving growth of 8.3 % in total tonnage across all terminals during Fiscal Year 2017, and doing it safely and without congestion. Savannah handled 3.85 mill. TEUs, and Brunswick moved 607,000 auto and machinery units. No other port in the Southeast recorded greater volumes for these commodities.
During his presentation, Lynch announced two major e-commerce developments. Noble House, a national furniture supplier, will build a 630,000 square-foot facility to serve the eastern half of the U.S., while home accessories company Best Choice will build 345,000 square feet. These announcements are in addition to 3 mill. square feet of distribution center space completed within the last year, and 5.2 mill. square feet currently under construction. Including Thursday‘s announcements, this new activity will bring Savannah‘s industrial inventory to more than 57 mill. square feet, of which less than 2 % is currently available.
Port-related e-commerce announcements from FY2017 include an 846,000 square-foot distribution center for Wayfair, which will add 150 jobs; and a 753,000 square-foot facility for Tory Burch, bringing another 150 jobs to Georgia.
New Super Post-Panamax cranes on order, port expansion on the way
Lynch outlined plans to accommodate record growth and expand new markets. Those plans include growing Savannah‘s crane fleet. The Port has ten Super Post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes on order, for a total of 36 cranes. Four will arrive in 2018, and the final six by 2020. Having 36 cranes on dock will allow Garden City Terminal to move 1,300 containers per hour on and off vessels.
Overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project will deepen the outer harbor to 49 feet at low tide (56 feet at high tide), and the inner harbor to 47 feet (54 feet at high tide). SHEP is 35 % complete, with a finish date in late 2020. It will allow the largest vessels calling on the Port of Savannah to take on heavier loads and to transit the river without having to wait for high tide. Since the opening of the expanded Panama Canal at the start of FY2017, the percentage of the fleet calling on Savannah that are neo-Panamax vessels has grown from 42 % to 60 %.
Investing in Hinterland connections
Lynch also announced a 128 mill. $ Mega-Rail Project. Additional track on terminal will allow the GPA to better handle 10,000-foot long unit trains. More efficient rail offerings will position Savannah to rapidly increase service to an arc of inland markets, from Atlanta to Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago and the Ohio Valley. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of Calendar Year 2018. Completion is expected at the end of 2020.
The GPA also broke ground on the Appalachian Regional Port, an inland rail yard in Chatsworth, Ga., in FY2017. Its completion in the fall of 2018 will cut Atlanta truck traffic by 50,000 trips per year, and expand GPA‘s reach into Tennessee, Northeast Alabama and parts of Kentucky.
Moreover, the GPA will expand its current gate structure by adding six truck lanes, giving Garden City Terminal a total of 54 lanes, a 12.5 % increase. Off-terminal, the state of Georgia is investing 10bn $ over ten years into freight mobility. The plan will create dedicated truck lanes, alleviate traffic and improve safety across the state.
