Georgia Ports Authority

At 1,200 acres, Garden City Terminal is the largest single container terminal in North America.

Overview

The Georgia Ports Authority, which was founded in 1945^[2], operates port facilities in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Georgia’s primary deepwater ports are located in Savannah and Brunswick, supplemented by inland barge operations in Bainbridge and Columbus.

The Authority is controlled by a thirteen-member Board of Directors, which is appointed by the Governor, from the state at large, to serve four-year, staggered terms. The GPA employs more than 1,250 people statewide.

The GPA owns and operates deepwater terminals in Savannah and Brunswick, moving an array of goods including refrigerated cargo, cars, machinery and breakbulk cargo.

Ro/Ro traffic moved via Colonel’s Island at the Port of Brunswick and Ocean Terminal in Savannah make the GPA is the second busiest U.S. hub for Ro/Ro cargo.

The Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal is the fourth-busiest container terminal in the U.S., handling 4.2 million TEUs in fiscal year 2018. The 1,200 acre single-terminal operation provides nine containership berths on nearly 10,000 contiguous feet of dock.

The Port of Savannah currently features 30 ship-to-shore cranes and 146 rubber-tired gantry cranes. GPA’s 2028 Plan calls for 42 ship-to-shore cranes, 200 yard cranes, new RTG lanes and intermodal expansion.^[3]

Many major retail outlets such as Target, Walmart, Ikea, The Home Depot and Pier 1 operate distribution centers in close proximity to the Port of Savannah.^[4]

According to Colliers International^[5], the Savannah market includes 55 million square feet of industrial space, with 5 million square feet under construction. Since 2007, more than 21.8 million square feet of industrial space have been built in the Savannah area. Colliers estimates there is enough space at existing industrial parks to add another 15 million square feet of industrial space within 15 miles of the Port of Savannah.

Facilities

• 

  Cars rolling onto Colonel's Island Terminal at the Port of Brunswick.
  Garden City Terminal is the fourth-busiest container handling facility in the United States, encompassing more than 1,200 acres and moving millions of tons of containerized cargo annually.^[6]
• Ocean Terminal, Savannah’s dedicated breakbulk and roll-on/roll-off facility, covers 200.4 acres and has more than 1.4 million square feet of covered storage. ^[7]
• The Port of Brunswick includes three GPA-owned deepwater terminals, two of which are directly operated by the GPA. The port is one of the fastest growing auto and heavy machinery ports in North America.

• Colonel’s Island Terminal has three roll-on/roll-off berths and four on-terminal auto processors, handling cargo for more than 60 auto and heavy machinery manufacturers. The terminal is also home to a bulk export/import operation.
• Mayor’s Point Terminal specializes in handling forest products, while Marine Port Terminals, operated by Logistec U.S.A., specializes in the handling of breakbulk and bulk commodities

Georgia Ports Authority opened the Appalachian Regional Port^[8] in Murray County, Georgia in August 2018. The inland port serves additional markets in Alabama, Tennessee, while avoiding 8 million truck miles annually. The 42-acre site near Chatsworth will be operated by Georgia Ports Authority and served by CSX Transportation. The rail terminal will provide a direct, 388-mile route to Garden City Terminal.

Economic Impact

Former Vice President Joe Biden visited the Port of Savannah in 2013.

Georgia’s ports support 439,220 full- and part-time jobs^[9] across the state, according to a study released by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at UGA’s Terry College of Business. The latest figure is based on Fiscal Year 2017 impacts, and represents an increase of 70,000 jobs (up 19 percent) compared to the previous report covering FY2014. Georgia's ports now account for 9 percent of total state employment, or one out of 11 jobs^[10]. Personal income derived from port-supported jobs totaled $25 billion statewide in FY2017. According to the report, authored by Dr. Jeffrey Humphreys^[11], port activity accounted for 11 percent of Georgia’s total sales in FY2017, reaching $106 billion.

The Terry College of Business study found that maritime trade amounts to $44 billion in state gross domestic product, or 8 percent of Georgia’s total GDP. Business conducted through the ports resulted in $5.9 billion in federal taxes, $1.4 billion in state taxes and $1.5 billion in local taxes, according to the report.

The statewide economic impact of Georgia’s deepwater ports in fiscal year 2017 includes:

• $106 billion in sales (11 percent of Georgia’s total sales);
• $44 billion in state GDP (8 percent of Georgia’s total GDP);
• $25 billion in income (6 percent of Georgia’s total personal income);
• 439,220 full- and part-time jobs (9 percent of Georgia’s total employment);
• $5.9 billion in federal taxes.
• $1.4 billion in state taxes; and
• $1.5 billion in local taxes.

Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP)

In February 2018, the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP)^[12] hit the halfway point as work on the outer harbor reached completion. Dredging for the project, which began in 2015, will deepen the harbor from its current 42 feet to 47 feet. The depth will allow large ships that are coming through the Panama Canal to call on the Port of Savannah. While some of these Neo-Panamax ships already call Savannah, they are not loaded to capacity. ^[13]

The outer harbor dredging was completed in late February and marked the halfway point for the project. The deepening of the inner harbor should be complete by late 2021. Studies demonstrate the deepening will produce substantial economic benefits for the nation by enabling larger and more heavily-loaded vessels to call on the harbor with fewer tidal delays. The extra depth will allow an additional 3,600 cargo containers in each trip^[14].

The total project cost estimate is currently $973 million. SHEP is expected to net more than $282 million in annual benefits to the nation and has a benefit-to-cost ratio of $7.30 for every $1 invested. Costs of the studies and construction are shared between the U.S. government and the state of Georgia^[15].

In June 2018, an additional $35 million was added to project funding for the expansion of the Savannah harbor.This funding^[16] from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ spending plan will be added to the $50.06 million included in the president’s 2018 budget request, bringing the total to roughly $85 million. The next step is to begin dredging 20 miles of the inner harbor (the Savannah River.) A contract for the inner harbor piece of the project cannot be awarded until an environmental project is installed and testing to ensure that marine life is not harmed by the dredging of the river.

External links

• Official website