On Tuesday, the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) released its latest data on growth, posting strong numbers in December and an increase of some 350,000 containers, including 11.4 percent growth at the Port of Savannah. Halfway through the fiscal year, the GPA had handled more than 2.8 million containers.
“We’ve seen twelve consecutive months of year-over-year container volume growth and we’re on track for a strong fiscal year that ends June 30th, 2025,” said Griff Lynch, president and CEO of Georgia Ports Authority.
The Appalachian Regional Port (ARP) in Murray County also saw a strong increase over the period in question, an increase of more than 4,000 containers or 13.5 percent. December volume in particular was up 20.6 percent.
The announcement comes just days after four new ship-to-shore Konecranes from Finland arrived, each of which can unload one TEU or container in about two minutes. With one ship carrying somewhere around 15,000 TEUs, four additional cranes can make a huge difference in unloading speed or turnaround time. That turnaround time is a key metric for ports and shipping companies. The lower a port can get the turnaround time, the better it is for a shipping company to move on to its next destination.
In addition to the new cranes, the Blue Ridge Connector inland port in Gainesville will open in 2026. In March of this year, the $40 million doubled in size U.S. Customs inspection facility will help imports move through the port and out with faster service. The Port of Brunswick finished more than $250 million in 2024, adding new warehousing and processing space. Brunswick specializes in roll on/roll off cargo (RO/RO) – basically anything with tires, and it added 122 acres of Ro/Ro storage – a lot of parking.
“We continue to focus our infrastructure renovation efforts on getting all our facilities into top shape for customers and their long-term needs,” said Kent Fountain, Chairman of the Georgia Ports board. We’d like to thank our customers, Gateway Terminals, the ILA, our Trucking community and our business partners who make Savannah and Brunswick supply chains work so well.”
Overall, Georgia’s ports support more than 500,000 jobs across the state, totaling some $33 billion in income, $140 billion in revenue and $3.8 billion in state and local taxes to the economy. In addition to all that has already been invested, the GPA Authority is planning more than $4 billion in new investments over the next ten years as part of its master plan. The GPA also recently announced they are investing $6 million to the communities around the Port of Savannah. CNBC ranked Georgia the top state in the country for infrastructure last year, part of the reason the state continues to perform so well for 11 years in a row as Area Development’s Top State to Do Business.
