Issue link: http://hub.jocdigital.com/i/724488
GLOBAL LOGISTICS PROFILE Unprecedented opportunities stand before the Georgia Ports Authority, made possible by smart investments and tireless effort. Savannah is the fastest growing container port in the United States, while the Port of Brunswick is the nation's second busiest for total import-export of automobiles. In fiscal year 2016, the GPA moved 30.8 million tons of cargo and 3.6 million twenty-foot equivalent container units. It is the second straight year that TEUs topped 3.6 million. Savannah handled double-digit increases in container volumes last year from cargo diverted during stalled labor negotiations on the West Coast. GPA retained an estimated 24 percent of the 320,000 TEUs diverted to the Port of Savannah over FY2015, or more than 75,000 TEUs. Container growth for the GPA was up 15.4 percent over a two-year period from the end of FY2014. GPA's deep-water ports form vital gateways for trade, seamlessly connecting sea and land transportation. They provide greater market reach with direct interstate connections, on-terminal rail, and the most container ship services in the U.S. Southeast. With its harbor deepening under way, the Port of Savannah is strengthening its position as the load center for trade in the Southeast. At 1,200 acres — with 22 ship- to-shore cranes and 146 rubber-tire gantry cranes — Savannah has the capacity to handle influxes of cargo and the flexibility to handle megaships carrying freight for allied shipping lines. The harbor expansion will allow larger vessels to transit the river with heavier loads, over more hours of the day. Connecting all of Georgia's logistics assets is key to the state's economic future. GPA is expanding its autoport in Brunswick to hold even more vehicles. The port authority is also expanding its reach through inland rail terminals. Through deeper water, an expanded rail network and Gov. Nathan Deal's highway transportation initiative, the Georgia Ports Authority is forging a smarter, faster logistics network. Georgia Ports Authority: Opportunity Ahead CHRIS LOGAN SENIOR DIRECTOR, TRADE DEVELOPMENT BCO SALES, GEORGIA PORTS AUTHORITY