ATLANTA — Gov. Nathan Deal, addressing the Georgia Logistics Summit Wednesday, sounded a decidedly positive note on the future of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project — a 15-year effort to deepen the Savannah River channel in advance of the larger cargo ships expected when the Panama Canal opens its expanded locks in 2016.
“The future is bright for our deepwater ports, which last year set new records in both imports and exports,” Deal said. “We are working diligently to get our harbor deepened.
“Last night, the state legislature passed a budget that contained the last $35 million of Georgia’s share of the project, giving us a total of $266 million available now.”
Deal said he was confident the last remaining hurdle to releasing federal funds would be removed by Congress “very shortly.”
“In the meantime, we will proceed with those things we can do now,” the governor said, adding that includes the purchase of land for mitigation.
With 80 percent of the U.S. market within no more than two day’s reach from Georgia, the deepening of the harbor in Savannah is critical to the state’s competitiveness, Deal said.
Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Curtis Foltz agreed, adding that Deal’s efforts speak volumes on the importance of logistics to the state’s leadership.
“I challenge you to find another state where the governor is so well versed on the importance of logistics, puts as much emphasis on economic development and, in fact, puts a priority on addressing issues associated with transportation,” Foltz said.
“Team Georgia definitely gets it.”
Foltz offered the crowd of more than 2,000 gathered in the ballroom of the Georgia World Congress Center an overview of how Georgia’s ports are faring.
“I’m happy to report that, despite a still weak global economy, our port business is extremely strong,” he said.
In Brunswick, the Colonel’s Island auto processing facility has grown exponentially in the last three years, Foltz said.
“Last year, we moved some 635,000 new automobiles through Colonel’s Island, making us the second-largest auto port in the U.S. and No. 1 in the country for new imports,” he said.
Moving up to Savannah, where Garden City Terminal is the single largest and busiest container terminal in the country, business is booming, Foltz said.
In the first eight months of Fiscal 2014, which ends June 30, Georgia Ports have been extremely healthy, he said.
“Our total tonnage is up 7.6 percent, we have moved more than 2 million 20-foot containers and some 439,000 auto and machinery units, up 5.6 percent from a banner year last year. Intermodal traffic is up 6.5 percent, thanks to our great rail partners, CSX and Norfolk Southern, Foltz said, adding that there is a reason it’s called Georgia Ports Authority.
“We touch every corner of the state and beyond, representing about 250,000 jobs and some $18 billion in income for the state,” he said.
“We’ve become a gateway for commerce for the Southeast, which has become the fastest-growing region of the country,” Foltz said, making a point that was re-emphasized later by the summit’s keynote speaker.
“The Port of Savannah is very important to us,” said Kevin Jones, vice president of inbound transportation for Walmart, who talked about how the world’s largest retailer uses logistics to cost effectively serve its millions of customers every day at more than 11,000 stores in all corners of the globe.
“The state of Georgia has a good logistics network,” Jones said. “We’re very supportive of what this state has to offer.
In Georgia, Jones said, Walmart has seven distribution centers, including a two-million-square-foot facility near Statesboro. The company has 155 stores, employing 53,168 associates who make an average of $12.93 per hour.
“Fortunately for Walmart, supply chain has always played a big role for us, going all the way back to Sam Walton, who understood the importance of making sure we had the goods we needed when and where we needed them,” Jones said.
“We have 172 distribution centers in this country alone,” Jones said. “We leverage truckloads, less than truckloads, rail, air and ports. And we partner with experts, such as specialists at MIT, to help us develop tools to address efficiency.”
The summit wrapped up with a series of sessions addressing topics in tomorrow’s supply chain, including cloud-based transportation management, same-day fulfillment strategies and sustainability.