![\"\"](\"https:\/\/awlcorp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/400400p3569EDNmainPort-of-Savannah-docks-FOR-RELEASE.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nMonday, July 23, 2018<\/p>\n
The Georgia Ports Authority achieved records in total tonnage and twenty-foot equivalent container units handled in Fiscal Year 2018, which ended in June.<\/strong><\/b>\u00a0Find print quality images\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0(Georgia Ports Authority \/ Stephen B. Morton)\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Savannah<\/strong><\/b>, Ga. \u2013\u00a0July 23, 201<\/strong><\/b>8<\/strong><\/b>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) handled\u00a0a record 4.2 million twenty-foot equivalent container units\u00a0in Fiscal Year 2018 (July \u201817 \u2013 June \u201818), for an impressive 8.4% increase year-over-year, or 325,000 additional units.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMoving more than 4 million TEUs in a single fiscal year is an important milestone for Georgia,\u201d said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. \u201cGeorgia\u2019s logistical advantages, along with the Southeast\u2019s population growth,\u00a0have resulted\u00a0in increased demand, while the expanded Panama Canal has cleared the way for larger vessels to call Savannah.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The GPA capped FY18 with its 20th<\/span>\u00a0consecutive month of positive year-over-year growth. In its busiest June ever, the Port of Savannah handled 370,725 TEUs, up 9.8 percent (33,014 TEUs) over June 2017. It was the Authority\u2019s 18th<\/span>\u00a0month in a row handling more than 300,000 TEUs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOutstanding effort from our GPA employees, the International Longshoremen\u2019s Association, stevedores, trucking and rail personnel made it possible to exceed customer expectations and achieve record results,\u201d said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. \u201cI cannot say enough about the partnership and can-do spirit of the Georgia maritime community.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In addition, intermodal rail lifts surged to 435,000, an increase of 16.1%, or more than 60,000 additional moves, another record for the GPA.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe market\u2019s increasing recognition of Georgia as a rail hub for East Coast container trade reinforces our determination to double Savannah\u2019s on-terminal rail lift capacity,\u201d said Lynch. \u201cThe Port of Savannah is poised to capture new rail cargo across the state, the Southeast and well into the American Midwest.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At its meeting Monday, the GPA board approved construction of an $8.8 million overpass, part of the $127\u00a0million Mason Mega Rail project\u00a0that, upon completion, will allow 10,000-foot unit trains to be built on terminal. This, along with other improvements, will increase Savannah\u2019s annual rail lift capacity to 1 million containers by 2020, thereby cutting transit time to markets such as Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago and Cincinnati by 24 hours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In August, the GPA will open its Appalachian Regional Port, an inland rail terminal that will take 50,000 trucks off Georgia highways. Removing the need for a 710-mile roundtrip via truck, the ARP will improve container availability and reduce transportation costs for port customers in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Lynch also reported Monday that total cargo crossing all GPA docks in FY18 grew by 8 percent, or 2.6 million tons, to reach\u00a0a record 36 million tons of containerized, breakbulk and bulk cargoes. Forest products at Mayor\u2019s Point Terminal in Brunswick increased by 34.5 percent, up 35,953 tons, for a total of 138,653 tons.\u00a0Machinery, as well as commodities such as rubber and paper,\u00a0pushed the breakbulk total at Savannah\u2019s Ocean Terminal to 1.35 million tons, up 10 percent or 122,305 tons compared to FY2017.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In other business Monday, the GPA board approved the expansion of refrigerated cargo capacity at Garden City Terminal. The project will add 15 refrigerated container racks, accommodating a total of 360 additional containers. The Port of Savannah currently features 104 racks, holding 2,496 containers at a time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The board also\u00a0approved the purchase of 10 additional container handling machines, at a cost\u00a0of $3.5 million.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Find print-quality images of port operations\u00a0<\/em>here<\/a>. Georgia\u2019s\u00a0deepwater\u00a0ports and inland barge terminals support more than 439,000 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $25 billion in income, $106 billion in revenue and $2.9 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia\u2019s economy. The Port of Savannah handled 8.5 percent of U.S. containerized cargo volume and 10 percent of all U.S. containerized exports in FY2017.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or\u00a0rmorris@gaports.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n