New space devoted to loaded container storage at the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal will give customers an additional 400,000 TEUs of annual container handling capacity. (Georgia Ports Authority)

Delivers new flexibility to port customers

SAVANNAH, Ga., March 19, 2020 – The Port of Savannah is bringing online 400,000 TEUs of annual container capacity at just the time when many port customers are seeking new storage options.

“With slowing demand related to the coronavirus, port users need space to stage their cargo until that demand returns,” said Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch. “With these new container stack areas, Savannah is delivering the flexibility our customers need.”

GPA recently added container slots totaling nearly 5,000 TEUs of space to its operation. By mid-April, more than 6,000 TEUs of capacity will go into service, for a total of 11,130 TEUs of new container stacking space. These additions will increase Savannah’s annual capacity by 400,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units, for a new total capacity of 6 million TEUs per year.

“Our terminals continue to function with operational ease and efficiency,” said GPA Board Chairman Will McKnight. “From time to time, spikes in demand occur because of new customer needs or other factors impacting the global supply chain. Through the Authority’s steady investment in capacity, GPA is able to handle unexpected surges in container yard demand, whatever the cause.”

At 1,345 acres, the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal is the largest single-operator container terminal in North America. Its nearly 10,000 feet of contiguous dock space is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. This allows greater scheduling flexibility for the 36 container ship services that call on the Port of Savannah. Garden City Terminal also features on-terminal rail service from CSX and Norfolk Southern, three major truck gates and 50 truck lanes.

Georgia’s deepwater ports 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’s 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.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Chief Communications Officer Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or [email protected].