Earlier this week, Georgia Ports Authority reported its fifth highest month on record.
While record-breaking cargo numbers have become almost ho-hum for the country’s fourth-largest and fastest-growing port, this one was different.
It happened in February, a short month that is traditionally slow for shipping.
GPA executive director Curtis Foltz attributed the 14.2-percent year-over-year gain on “an improving U.S. consumer market, cargo diversions from the West Coast and further challenges faced by alternative gateway ports on the East Coast.”
On Wednesday, at the Jaxport Logistics and Intermodal Conference in Florida, Foltz told the Journal of Commerce he estimates between 20 and 40 percent of diverted cargo will stay with the East Coast.
“If (cargo owners) were convinced that the challenges dominating the West Coast supply chain were going to be resolved through a contract, we would have a different dynamic,” Foltz said, adding that most in the industry realize that not all the challenges are related to contract negotiations.
Savannah port traffic ordinarily would be expanding at a roughly 4 to 4.5 percent clip, Foltz said. But thanks to the unexpected strength of those drivers and a post-Chinese New Year surge of volume, much of which would have normally flowed to West Coast ports, Savannah is handling the level of traffic it expected to handle eight years from now.
Container traffic jumped 14.2 percent last year compared to the same period in 2013, and traffic so far this fiscal year, which ends June 30, is up 13.7 percent.
Adding to the uncertainty on the West Coast are new reports that a faction of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union is urging members to vote no on the tentative five-year contract that was reached in late February between the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association, representing terminal and cargo owners.
While welcoming the additional volume, handling the steep ramp-up in volume hasn’t been easy, according to Foltz.
“We have our limitations, and those limitations are being tested,” he told JOC.com.
Sailing ship on way
The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa is poised to welcome a sailing yacht next week.
According to an announcement, the Whitman Yacht, a 47-foot ketch-rigged sailing vessel, will make its debut Tuesday at the Westin’s Riverfront Esplanade, offering “personalized sailing experiences for the 2015 season.”
The Whitman Yacht is the latest venture for the Whitman Hospitality Group, which established its brand of tailored accommodations and events at its flagship mansion at 611 Whitaker Street.
Beginning next week the yacht will be moored at The Westin during the days before the resort’s “First Fridays” to give guests a taste of options that range from relaxed sunset cocktail cruises to a full day of hands on sailing.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
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Following are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean terminals this week. Schedules are supplied by GPA and are subject to change.
TERMINAL VESSEL ETA
GCT CONCORD Today
GCT MAERSK MEMPHIS Today
GCT PHILADELPHIA EXPRESS Today
GCT MSC SARAH Today
GCT MSC STELLA Today
GCT CONRAD S Today
GCT YANTIAN EXPRESS Today
OT TALISMAN Today
OT CLIPPER BELLE Today
OT GRAND DIAMOND Today
GCT ZIM TEXAS Saturday
GCT MAERSK DETROIT Saturday
GCT MAERSK KOKURA Saturday
GCT AXEL MAERSK Saturday
GCT CGM UTRILLO Saturday
GCT CAFER DEDE Saturday
GCT CMA CGM ATTILA Saturday
GCT BLACKPOOL TOWER Saturday
GCT AL SAFAT Saturday
OT GRANDE SIERRA LEONE Saturday
OT GLOBAL LAGUNA Saturday
GCT CMA CGM MATISSE Sunday
GCT TOMMI RITSCHER Sunday
GCT VLADIMIR Sunday
GCT HANJIN MIAMI Sunday
GCT YM MANDATE Sunday
OT TAMERLANE Sunday
OT THORCO ASIA Sunday
GCT OOCL KAOHSIUNG Monday
GCT HONGKONG BRIDGE Monday
GCT KAETHE P Monday
GCT SEALAND ILLINOIS Monday
GCT MAERSK DENVER Monday
GCT MS TIGER Monday
OT WEEKS 527 Monday
GCT HANJIN SAN DIEGO Tuesday
GCT ZIM TARRAGONA Tuesday
GCT MAERSK KURE Tuesday
GCT MOL EFFICIENCY Tuesday
GCT MSC RACHELE Tuesday
GCT JUIST TRADER Tuesday
GCT OOCL HAMBURG Tuesday
OT STAR GRAN Tuesday
GCT HS BACH Wednesday
GCT SANTA LAURA Wednesday
GCT EVER LINKING Wednesday
OT TOSCA Wednesday
OT MAPLE GLORY Wednesday
OT MORNING CHARLOTTE Wednesday
GCT MSC INGRID Thursday
GCT HAPPY DIAMOND Thursday
GCT ZIM VIRGINIA Thursday
GCT MAERSK WINNIPEG Thursday
GCT CHARLESTON EXPRESS Thursday
GCT AL BAHIA Thursday
GCT WEHR SINGAPORE Thursday
GCT MAERSK KALAMATA Thursday
OT SALOME Thursday