After a year of record-breaking numbers and hard-fought battles for harbor deepening funding, Savannah’s port is positioned for significant growth and could eventually eclipse the ports of New York and New Jersey to lead the east coast, the executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority said Thursday.
“We’ve eclipsed three million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent container units). It’s time to look toward four,” said Curtis Foltz, delivering the 2014 Savannah State of the Port address. “It’s time to grow and become number one on the East Coast.”
About 1,350 people attended Foltz’s address at Savannah’s International Trade and Convention Center on Hutchinson Island, just a stone’s throw from Garden City Terminal where cargo ships arrive and depart stacked high with multi-colored containers.
Foltz said a combination of increased container activity, infrastructure improvements, industrial expansion and generous support from the state have resulted in Savannah becoming the leading port in the Southeast.
With harbor deepening work slated to begin imminently, he said, Savannah is in a good position to continue to grow its capacity.
“Something that was unfathomable probably a decade ago, I think, is something at least within our sight,” said Foltz. “If we continue to do well … if we continue to build world-class facilities and work with our partners, you’ll see that accomplishment sooner than anyone would ever believe.”
Among the port’s milestones over the year, Foltz said, total tonnage was up 8 percent to 29.4 million tons, twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) broke three million for the first time and roll-on/roll-off cargo such as automobiles and heavy construction machinery increased by 10 percent to 700,702 units.
The Port of Brunswick became number two in the country for imports and exports of autos thanks to new accounts with car manufacturers such as Nissan, Subaru and Honda. Foltz said they would announce another major car company over the next few days.
Foltz reported the addition of 1,900 new port-related jobs thanks to newer companies such as Dynacraft Bikes, Nordic Cold Storage and Bed, Bath & Beyond, with a multiplier effect of even more jobs trickling down the logistics chain.
“We had a record year in almost every category that we report,” said Foltz.
Deepening the port
After months of back-and-forth, Congress passed the Water Resources Reform & Development Act in June, and the state has set aside $266 million for construction.
Foltz described the signing of a federal-state partnership agreement as “imminent,” meaning construction on the outermost channel could begin later this year.
“I truly believe we’re now in the period of days or weeks, and not months, where the Army Corps of Engineers will have a green light to begin awarding contracts,” he said.
He said the deepening will happen in five concurrent phases with environmental monitoring occurring throughout construction.
Outlining GPA’s sustainability efforts, Foltz said they had invested several million in environmental mitigation projects, including the creation of 14 acres of wetlands near Garden City.
Of the $1.3 billion in capital investments they’ve budgeted for the next 10 years, he said, they plan to the convert the port’s entire fleet of diesel-run rubber-tired gantry cranes to electric.
The deepening will accommodate the larger ships expected to come from the Panama Canal expansion, slated for completion in 2016, and could gradually shift shipping activity from the West Coast.
“It is a hugely beneficial project, one of the highest benefit-to-cost ratio projects a port of this magnitude has ever done,” said Foltz.
For every $1 spent, the GPA will see about $5.50 in return and will result in $174 million in net annual savings on transit.
Foltz said it’s important to grow the port not only to accommodate larger ships but to contribute to the regional economy as a whole.
“We have a commitment to build because the Southeast is the place to be,” said Foltz.