The Port of Savannah's Garden City Terminal handled 129 container ship calls last month, an increase of 26% compared to October 2022.

Griff Lynch, president of Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), noted that for the first time in two and a half years, all berths are open at Garden City Terminal for faster, more efficient cargo handling.

"We appreciate our customers' patience during the renovation of Berth 1 and look forward to providing the world-class vessel service they have come to expect from GPA," he said.

The Port of Savannah handled 449,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units in October, for its fourth-busiest October ever and a 5% increase over the same month in 2019, the most recent year not affected by the pandemic.

"Our infrastructure planning efforts will be realized with Berth 1's opening, and we now have ample berth capacity to handle demand," said Kent Fountain, chairman of the GPA Board.

"This timing is important for the holiday season and last-minute orders," he added.

GPA noted that containers moved by rail grew by 9% at Garden City Terminal in October, an increase of nearly 4,000 containers to 47,750.

At the Appalachian Regional Port, rail cargo grew by 22% last month for a record October.

Volume decline recorded

Meanwhile, GPA reported that for the fiscal year to date since July, the Port of Savannah has handled 1.7 million TEUs, a decrease of 18% or 382,580 TEUs compared to the same period in FY2023, which saw some of the busiest months in GPA history.

In Roll-on/Roll-off cargo, GPA handled 67,500 units of autos and machinery in October, down 5.8% or 4,160 units compared to the same month last year.

For the fiscal year to date, GPA has handled 271,364 Ro/Ro units, up 17% or 39,500 units.