GPA
GPA on July 29 reported moving 5.7 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent container units) In Fiscal Year 2025—up 8.6% or 450,000 TEUs from the previous fiscal year. FY25, beginning July 1, 2024 and ending June 30, 2025, was the Port of Savannah’s second busiest year on record; in the pandemic year of FY22, GPA handled 5.76 million TEUs.
Savannah’s volume grew at a 4.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for fiscal year-to-date (FYTD) 2025 compared with FYTD2016, while the entire U.S. container port market experienced a 2.7% CAGR during the same period, according to GPA.
The Port of Savannah moved 410,400 TEUs in June. Georgia Ports averaged more than 475,000 TEUs per month in the fiscal year just ended, according to GPA. March, April and May each came in with more than 500,000 TEUs.
The Port of Brunswick saw “strong volumes, despite market volatility,” GPA reported. It handled 870,775 units of autos and heavy equipment in FY25, which was flat compared with the previous year; FY24 was an “all-time record year.”
GPA is slated to start construction in the current fiscal year on the new $100 million Colonels Island Berth 4, which it said is “designed to ensure future capacity keeps pace with demand when opened in 2027.”
GPA reported that in the past decade it has completed $3.2 billion in port infrastructure projects. Over the next ten years, it plans to invest another $4.5 billion in capacity improvements, which include five big ship berths added in the next eight years. Two big ship berths are being upgraded now in Ocean Terminal and will be ready by 2027-28. Three big ship berths are planned for Savannah Container Terminal from 2030-34.
During fiscal year 2025, GPA said it completed $470 million in projects, including at:
- Brunswick: Roll-on/Roll-off expansion, adding 640,000 square feet of warehousing in support of processing autos and heavy equipment, and 122 acres of Roll-on/Roll-off storage.
- Savannah: Garden City Terminal Warehouse 83B modifications (newly expanded CBP Exam facility) to streamline Customs inspections by doubling warehouse space and expanding refrigerated cargo capabilities.
- Savannah: Eight new ship-to-shore cranes.
Also in FY25, GPA said its Board approved an additional $472 million for new projects, including at:
- Brunswick: Colonels Island Southside Rail Phase 1, which doubles rail capacity from five to 10 trains per week and increases the port’s annual rail capacity from 150,000 autos to more than 340,000.
- Brunswick: Colonels Island Berth 4 is being added for Roll-on/Roll-off cargo to meet growing demand.
- Savannah: Ocean Terminal Redevelopment will add an annual capacity of 1.5 million TEUs. The project includes an overpass linking Ocean Terminal to Route 17, which is designed to keep terminal truck traffic from impacting local neighborhoods.
“Georgia Ports continues to grow U.S. East Coast market share and with the shifting trade patterns in Asia and India, that bodes well for our future,” GPA President and CEO Griff Lynch said.
Further Reading:
- Port of Brunswick Set to Launch South Side Rail Facility Phase I
- Port of Savannah: Busiest March on Record
- Port of Savannah: Busiest February on Record
- For GPA, Containers Up, Capacity Growing
- Port of Brunswick Takes Top Spot for Autos, Heavy Equipment
- GPA Lands $26.5MM Federal Grant for Colonel’s Island Rail Improvements Project
- GPA Approves $127MM for Blue Ridge Connector
- GPA Prepares for the Future, Adds Inland Rail Connectivity
- CSX, GPA Launch ‘Carolina Connector’ Service
- Georgia Ports Advances Inland Rail Hub Plan
Port NOLA
The Port NOLA Board of Commissioners has approved a resolution authorizing Port NOLA President and CEO Beth Branch to enter into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) among the five Lower Mississippi River ports to develop a collaborative marketing strategy and to enter into a professional services agreement with Polaris Analytics & Consulting, LLC, to assist in the creation of that strategic plan, which will highlight “the strengths of the collective port system and maximize opportunities for economic development, infrastructure investment, and job creation across south Louisiana,” Port NOLA reported July 25.
The five ports on the Lower Mississippi River include Port NOLA, Port of South Louisiana, Port of Greater Baton Rouge, St. Bernard Port, and the Louisiana Gateway Port at Plaquemines Parish. Collectively, they comprise the largest port complex in the world, according to Port NOLA.
This initiative is said to closely align with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s establishment of the Louisiana Ports and Waterways Investment Commission, which aims to advocate for all of Louisiana’s ports and waterway investments. According to Port NOLA, the commission is tasked with “articulating a long-term vision for Louisiana’s maritime future through the development of a strategic plan and targeted investment program.”
“This CEA represents more than just a marketing initiative; it’s a commitment to cooperation, unity, and long-term vision for Louisiana’s ports,” said Beth Branch, who is also CEO of New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, a Class III that serves Port NOLA and local industries. “By working together, the Lower Mississippi River ports can speak with one powerful voice and better position our state as a leader in global trade and logistics. We are proud to be taking this important step alongside our partners.”
