Georgia Ports Authority forecasts container record for the year

The Port of Savannah is on pace to handle 4.36 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) in 2018, which would mark its highest volume ever in a calendar year, the organization said today.

If the port reaches that level, it would post an increase of 8 percent over its 2017 performance, according to the Georgia Ports Authority.

The increase has national significance because the Port of Savannah handled 8.5 percent of U.S. containerized cargo volume and 10 percent of all U.S. containerized exports in fiscal year 2017, port leaders said. "Cargo expansion related to growth in inland markets, as well as increased demand right here in the U.S. Southeast have shifted the global logistics arena in Savannah's favor, with more port users choosing to serve their customers via Georgia's deepwater terminals," GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch said in a release.

Measured through the first 11 months of the calendar year, the Port of Savannah has now moved 4 million TEUs, an 11.4 percent increase over the 3.72 million units moved over the same period last year. Containers currently booked for December will add approximately 362,000 TEUs to the annual total.

That pace of growth is expected to continue into 2019, since several vessel calls were rescheduled from the end of November to the beginning of December. Combined with planned December trade, this should result in strong numbers to round out the year. Additionally, many carriers are expected to make above-average cargo exchanges in January ahead of the Chinese New Year celebration, which begins on Feb. 5.