When Col. Thomas Tickner takes command of the Savannah District of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers from Col. Jeffrey Hall this morning in a ceremony overlooking the river at the Hyatt Regency Savannah, he needs only to look out the window to see that his new charges have been busy.
In response to unusually heavy rains in the upper Savannah River basin, the Corps has continued to coordinate scheduled releases from three reservoirs feeding the river at Hartwell, Richard Russell and J. Strom Thurmond lakes north of Augusta.
Due to these scheduled releases, water levels along the Savannah River are rising above normal to about 2 feet upstream and just less than a foot closer to the coast, increasing the velocity of the current.
“This is a fast-moving river pushing out to sea,” Corps spokesman Billy Birdwell said earlier in the week.
Higher-than-normal tides also are expected, due to atmospheric conditions and the rise of the new moon. The highest tide is expected Monday evening at 8.7 feet, with winds from the southwest pushing it as high as 9.2 feet at Fort Pulaski.
This combination of higher tides and releases from the Thurmond Dam, which is closest to Savannah, will most likely produce some minor flooding along the Savannah River, according to an advisory put out by Chatham County.
Expectations include possible water on the west end of River Street in the lower level parking areas and river side walkways. Additionally, water over Highway 80 leading to Tybee is likely, according to county spokesman Pete Nichols.
Beginning Saturday, the Savannah River will be monitored and conditions documented at high tide. The Georgia Department of Transportation is scheduled to place electronic message boards on Highway 80 alerting drivers of the potential hazard.
Chatham Emergency Management also plans to monitor the river throughout the weekend.
Imports expected to pick up
Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports — including Savannah — is expected to increase a modest 1.1 percent in July over the same month last year but a slow summer should be followed by significant increases as retailers head into the holiday season this fall, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released Thursday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
“With the economy recovering slowly, retailers have been cautious with imports this summer, but it’s clear that they expect an upturn later in the year,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy.
“Import numbers have been close to flat since spring, but we expect to see stronger increases this fall.”
In Savannah, the Port Tracker forecast calls for a 10.8 percent increase in imports over the coming six months versus the previous six-month period, compared to a 5.4 percent gain over the same period of the previous year.
Half of the coming six months are forecast to post an increase over the prior period, although all changes are projected to be in the single-digit percentage range. Year-on-year growth is projected in four of the months, including a double-digit percentage increase in October.
All four upcoming quarters are forecast to post a year-on-year gain.
Despite the projected increase in imports, Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said actual results will hinge on consumer confidence.
“If consumers do not turn their confidence into purchases, then import volumes will drop,” Hackett said.
Exports slow down
After a strong start in the first part of this decade, the slowdown in export growth means the U.S. will not meet President Obama’s goal of doubling exports from 2009 levels by 2015, the Journal of Commerce reports.
Because export growth to its major overseas markets slowed so steeply last year and so far this year, the U.S. won’t be able to double its exports to the target of $3.15 trillion until 2032, or 17 years after the original target date set by President Obama in his 2010 State-of-the-Union address, Drewry Maritime Research said in its Container Insight Weekly.
Savannah is one of the rare U.S. ports with a balanced trade ratio - 53 percent exports to 47 percent imports in calendar year 2012.
In the five years from 2008 through 2012, GPA exports grew 14 percent, while imports grew 13 percent.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.