4


Issue 1 2020 - FBJNA The Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal will commission six new ship-to-shore cranes by mid-2020. (GPA photo.)


///GPA


GPA’s Investments Reap Rewards By Peter Buxbaum


The Port of Savannah moved a record 4.5 million TEUs in fiscal year 2019, which ended June 30, an increase of more than 305,000 TEUs, or 7.3%, over the year before. For the first time ever, the Georgia Ports Authority transferred over half a million containers to rail last year, growing that number by more than 72,000, or 16.6%. Savannah’s 506,707 boxes


intermodal in 2019


constituted more than 20% of total containers handled at the port, another


record. Overall,


rail cargo grew more than 35% between 2017 and 2019 at the Port of Savannah, more than twice the rate of GPA’s overall growth in container trade. The growth of cargo volumes


at the Port of Savannah explains the robust levels of investments there in rail infrastructure, at the maritime terminals themselves, and in on-dock warehousing


capacity, particularly for perishable cargoes. Rail transportation is key to getting cargo to the Midwest and the 2016 expansion of the Panama Canal, has allowed east coast ports,


including Savannah, to


attract bigger container vessels from Asia. “Larger vessels transiting the


Panama Canal have reduced the overall transportation cost of moving cargo to inland destinations, pushing the market frontier for East Coast ports farther west,” noted GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. “Additionally, more customers are diversifying their supply chains to avoid the congestion of West Coast ports.”


Meson Mega Rail Project


The soon-coming completion of GPA’s 85-acre Mason Mega Rail project will enable the Class I rail


providers Norfolk Southern and CSX to build and receive more 10,000-foot trains on terminal. “This


capability, major in Southeast turn,


will enable direct rail service to


and


Midwestern markets, areas that offer opportunity for significant market share growth for East Coast ports,” said Lynch. “Unit trains will cut 24 hours of transit time for rail service between Savannah and Midwestern markets such as Chicago.” The Mason Mega Rail


Terminal will double the Port of Savannah’s rail liſt capacity to two-million TEUs per year. Phase I of the project will open in the spring of 2020, with full completion expected by the end of the year. The expansion will add 97,000 feet of new rail track at Garden City Terminal, for a total of nearly 180,000 feet. It will increase the number of working tracks from 8 to 18. GPA calculates that improved service to the Midwest will make


GPA transferred over half a million containers to rail in FY2019 for the first time. (GPA photo.)


Savannah a viable alternative to the congested ports on the West Coast, where much of the Midwest’s cargo is landed, then railed across two-thirds of the continent. At present, GPA’s rail cargo


hovers around 20% of total throughput, but GPA would like to increase that ratio to at least 25%. GPA’s Mid-American Arc initiative aims to capture more of the cargo moving to the U.S. Midwest, with a target market that runs from Memphis to Chicago and the Ohio River Valley. This initiative is one reason GPA decided to develop the Mason Mega Rail Terminal. “Customers and logistics


Our goal has been and continues to be to offer the best quality services in the industry.


With terminals in Savannah, Charleston, Jacksonville, Augusta, Jeffersonville, and


our corporate office in Sandersville, Georgia Howard Sheppard, Inc. is able to handle all your transportation needs


We handle dry and reefer containers,


liquid and bulk tanks, dumps and also offer transloading and warehouse services.


Howard Sheppard, Inc is a proud supporter of the Georgia Ports Authority.


Congratulations to the GPA on their 75th Anniversary!


Corporate Office


755 Waco Drive P.O. Box 797


Sandersville, Georgia 31082 1-800-846-1726


www.howardsheppard.com Garden City Terminal


At the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal, the commissioning of six new ship- to-shore cranes by mid-2020 will benefit operations in two ways. With a liſt height of 152 feet above the dock and a boom span 22 containers wide, the cranes are large enough to work


The Savannah Harbor deepening project being undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now more than halfway complete.


“A


deeper harbor will allow larger cargo vessels to call on Savannah with a longer tide window and heavier loads,” noted Lynch. Deepening the outer harbor— from the mouth of the Savannah


Temperature- cont rol led logistics figures at a substantial growth area for the port and is attracting new infrastructure investments . Over the


5 >>


providers have expressed keen interest in moving more cargo through Savannah to the Midwest,” said Lynch.


the largest vessels calling the U.S. East Coast. This will give the Port of Savannah a fleet of 36 cranes, including 18 with a liſt height of 152 feet. “With the addition of six new


cranes, Garden City Terminal will be able to work more vessels at a time, speeding vessel service,” said Lynch. Work was recently completed


on the terminal’s docks aimed at strengthening the structure to support the new larger cranes. “Long-term plans also call a berth


for realignment on the


downriver end of the terminal, straightening a bend on the docks to allow for additional berth space for 14,000-plus TEU vessels,” said Lynch.


Savannah Harbor Deepening Project


River out into the Atlantic— constitutes half of the project and has been completed. On September 30, 2019, the Corps of Engineers announced the start of deepening for the inner portion of the Savannah Harbor, which is now well under way. With a projected 2021 completion, GPA expects the project will yield the U.S. economy a net benefit of $282 million per year in reduced shipping costs by accommodating larger, more efficient vessels, and $7.30 in benefits for every $1 spent on construction. In May 2019, the Port of


Savannah added service between South America and the U.S. by Seaboard Marine. The Seaboard service focuses on chilled cargo imports, fruits and vegetables produced in South America’s growing season, which is opposite Georgia’s. “Because the GPA is now a


USDA approved port of entry for


chilled produce,” said


Lynch, “shippers can realize substantial savings serving the U.S. Southeast compared to the previous entry points through the shorter distances to major inland markets such as Atlanta, Memphis, and Charlotte.”


Cold Chain Cargo


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24