Record FY2017 volume for Georgia ports

The Georgia Ports Authority reported record fiscal year results and approved the purchase of six new ship-to-shore cranes at its July board meeting.

The agency moved an all-time high of 3.85 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 6.7% or 242,221 TEUs over the prior year. In the second half of FY2017, the Port of Savannah handled 1.99 million TEUs, a gain of 11.6%.

“Our volume growth continues to outpace forecasted demand,” said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. “Shipping lines are moving 13,000- and 14,000-TEU vessels into service on the East Coast more quickly than anticipated, and concentrating their deliveries at efficient gateway ports like Savannah. This new crane purchase, along with the four already on order, will enable GPA to increase crane capacity by nearly 40%.”

The year closed with the busiest June ever, as volume totaled 337,710 TEUs, up 17% for the month. Cargo totaled 33.4 million tons all terminals, another record and an 8.3% increase over FY2016.

At the meeting August 7, the board approved $72.75 million to purchase six more Neopanamax ship-to-shore cranes. The new machines will arrive in 2020, and are in addition to a previous order of four cranes that will be operational in June, 2018. The combined 10 additional cranes will bring the fleet to 36, able to move more than 1,300 containers per hour across a single dock.