Compared with December 2019, the Port of Savannah reached its busiest December ever last month, moving 447,525 TEUs, a rise of 24 percent, or 86,700. Last month, total cargo moving through all docks reached 3.33 million tons, up 12.5%. Rail volumes rose 16.4 percent, or around 10,900 TEUs, for the month, for a total of 77,230.

Georgia's exports remained steady over the calendar year, at 2.3 million TEUs, throughout the period when manufacturers around the world shuttered plants. 

Food, forest products, cotton, clay, automotive goods and chemicals were the generators of export container volumes. A near-even trade balance of 51 percent import and 49 percent export, unusual for the industry, was maintained by the Port of Savannah.

Growing container trade at the Port of Savannah during the last five months of the year was followed by five consecutive months of lower volumes.

Annual rail lifts at Garden City Terminal totaled 675,000 TEUs when scheduling and design began for Mason Mega Rail in 2016. The number is more than 936,000 today, a 40 percent rise.

Although the container trade ended the year in positive territory, the auto industry was hit harder, with both production and sales facing a tough pandemic-related year. For the year, at GPA, Roll-on/Roll-off cargo totaled 602,748 units, a decrease of 8 percent, or 55,000 units.

Maritime Business World