The 2013 fiscal year has started with a flourish at the state’s ports as cars and containers crowd the terminals in Savannah and Brunswick at near-record levels.
Container import and exports — the backbone of global trade — surged nearly 14 percent at Savannah in August compared to a year earlier, the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) reported Monday. Only once before, in October 2010, had Savannah handled more containers.
“Our deepwater ports achieved a good start for fiscal year 2013, despite a slow national economy,” said Curtis Foltz, the ports’ executive director. “The ports of Savannah and Brunswick have established solid momentum to start our fiscal year, which translates into increased jobs and economic opportunities throughout our region.”
Brunswick, which handles agricultural, mining and forestry products, notched a 30 percent increase in tonnage so far this fiscal year, which started July 1. Its Colonel’s Island terminal has moved nearly 110,000 Mercedes-Benzes, Hyundais, Kias, BMWs and other machinery, up 37 percent from last year.
Brunswick’s near-term future looks bright: Georgia’s booming wood chip and pellet industry is expected to boost exports by another 300,000 metric tons by year’s end, the Ports Authority reported.
Savannah’s future is less predictable. Fear of a possible dockworkers strike this month prompted shippers and retailers to speed up cargo deliveries. Holiday goods, which in years past would’ve flowed in September and October, may have already reached warehouses along the Eastern seabord.
“Some shippers have accelerated freight deliveries to avoid the possibility of goods languishing in East Coast and U.S. Gulf Coast ports in case of a strike,” Foltz said.
The longshoremens’ union and the shipping companies agreed last month to extend negotiations through December, averting, for now, a possible strike.
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