The Port of Savannah in Georgia has moved 5.3 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) in FY2021 which the port authority said, is up 20% or nearly 900,000 TEUs compared to the previous year.

Incoming GPA Board Chairman Joel Wooten thanked previous Chairman Will McKnight and Gov. Kemp for their leadership and said that the "record growth" in the port, makes Savannah one of the fastest-growing ports in the country.

"GPA leadership, our employees, and our partners across the logistics community put in tremendous effort to make this milestone possible," Wooten said. "Growing our business by 20% in a single year is an amazing accomplishment and secures Savannah’s position as the fastest growing gateway in the nation over the past 10 years."

Port expansion to support demand

GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch said the Savannah Harbor deepening, the Mason Mega Rail terminal and other capacity enhancements are not only preparing GPA for the present influx of cargo, but also for future demand. 

"A major strength for the Port of Savannah is its ability to respond to the needs of customers as they expand their positions in Georgia," Lynch said. "As port users continue to route additional cargo to Georgia, we are bullish on the future. We have an abundance of near-port property available for development, and GPA is right now adding millions of TEUs of additional capacity in Savannah."

The projects added 210,000 TEUs of capacity at the Port of Savannah through expanded container handling space and equipment at Ocean Terminal.

In a statement, GPA said the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is now nearly 90% complete and will wrap up in December 2021 — with a high-tide depth of 54 feet, the deeper harbor will allow vessels in the 16,000+ TEU range to take on heavier loads with fewer tidal restrictions.

GPA's US$220 million Mason Mega Rail project is also nearly complete and by the end of 2021, GPA will commission the second set of nine new working tracks. The project is seen to increase rail lift capacity to 2 million TEUs per year.

The Port of Savannah handled 9.3% of total US containerized cargo volume and 10.5% of all US containerized exports in FY2020.