Why has Savannah been the fastest-growing port for the past 10 years?

Georgia’s logistics infrastructure saves time and money by seamlessly connecting air, sea and land transportation. Its deepwater ports provide greater scheduling flexibility and market reach with direct interstate connections, on-terminal rail, and the most container ship services of any East Coast port.

The Savannah Model refers to the strategy of bringing distribution centers to the area for major retail outlets such as Target, Walmart, Ikea, The Home Depot and Pier 1. These facilities are within minutes of Garden City Terminal, reducing drive time and increasing supply chain efficiency.

There have been two direct benefits of bringing the distribution centers here. First, these major retailers influenced the shipping lines to bring more cargo to Savannah, benefiting Georgia’s logistics industry and giving exporters greater choice in global cargo transport.

Secondly, when the arriving import containers are emptied, they provide a steady supply of boxes for Georgia exports. Thanks to the foresight of GPA and state leaders in the 1990s, the Port of Savannah now acts as a logistics hub serving a multi-state region. Other advantages include:

• The Port of Savannah hosts 35 weekly vessel calls, the most on the U.S. East Coast.
• Garden City Terminal is served by two Class I railroads — Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation.
• To improve safety and expedite truck traffic, Georgia opened the Jimmy DeLoach connector, providing direct truck access between Garden City Terminal and Interstate 95.
• The Mason Mega Rail Terminal doubles the Port of Savannah’s annual rail lift capacity to 1 million containers. The largest on-terminal intermodal facility in the nation can accommodate ten, 10,000-footlong unit trains for Norfolk Southern and CSX transportation, the East Coast’s two Class I railroads.
• Georgia Ports is an economic engine for the State of Georgia, accounting for one out of every 8 jobs in the Peach State.