Georgia’s Ports Launch New Growth Plan
This week’s Courier Herald column:
Last week the Georgia Ports Authority held their State of the Port address in Savannah. The event has grown in stature and significance with Georgia’s ports. Among the 1,500 in attendance were House Speaker David Ralston, Governor Deal’s Chief of Staff Chris Riley, and Economic Development Commissioner Chris Carr.
During his brief remarks, Ports Authority Board Chairman James Allgood noted the ports economic impact extends well beyond coastal Georgia. He noted a delegation from his hometown of Dublin Georgia – a good hour’s drive inland – as evidence.
I smiled and nodded at three individuals sitting across the table from me representing Yamaha, Inc. They had traveled down from Newnan Georgia for the event.
It was the first address for new Ports Director Griffith Lynch, who had the most extensive remarks of the day. He was able to break some economic development news, announcing that retailer Floor & Décor would be establishing a 1.4 Million square foot warehouse in Pooler Georgia, bringing about 100 jobs to the Savannah area. The company expects to add a 1.1 Million square foot distribution center in the near future.
The real question, if there was one, would be one of any major changes in direction under Lynch. He is, after all, replacing a director that oversaw a major expansion in traffic and capacity at Georgia’s ports. Brunswick is now the 2nd largest U.S. port for roll-on, roll-off cargo – i.e, automobiles. Savannah has been the fastest growing port for container traffic over the last decade, doubling the growth rate of any other port.
The ports have become an East Coast leader by thinking big. Lynch made it clear that the Georgia Ports Authority is thinking even bigger.
The port is adding acreage to be able to process additional cars moving through the port at Brunswick. Savannah, meanwhile, will be completely re-tooling its rail operations with an eye to the East.
The idea behind a major overhaul and capacity increase of the port’s rail yards is simple: The more efficiently goods can me moved through the port to and from ships to trains, the more quickly cargo can reach its end customer. Efficiency of operations is one of the main selling points of Savannah to current and potential customers.
The Ports Authority is now thinking even bigger with their rail partners – and with their potential customer base. Lynch announced during his remarks a plan to combine the two existing rail yards into one supersized yard, significantly increasing the rail capacity to move goods in and out of the port. Trains of about 10,000 feet in length – almost two miles long – will be able to be constructed completely within the confines of the new port rail yard.
The enhancements in rail capacity aren’t all about existing and potential customers in Georgia, or even the Southeast. Port officials have noted that during the last two west coast dock strikes, Savannah’s container operations saw a spike in business. They have been able to retain a large number of clients formerly served by West Coast ports.
They’re now aiming to proactively take many of these customers in the nation’s midsection. Expanded and more efficient rail is key to making this happen. Trains of the length anticipated reduce per unit shipping costs significantly.
By lowering costs and speeding shipping times, port officials will be able to make a compelling case to new customers in a “Mid-American Arc”. 25 trains a week are anticipated in order to serve the Midwest, bound for distribution hubs such as Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, and Columbus Ohio.
Georgia launched on an “inland port” concept years ago, opening the first such operation for direct high speed freight access from Cordele Georgia. A second inland port is now under construction in near Chatsworth in Murray County, near the Tennessee line. Additional locations are actively being sought in the state.
Inland ports have allowed Georgia Ports to position themselves as the dominant player in the Southeastern US. The target of a new Mid-America Arc expands on the existing success. Georgia is ready to assert itself as a “gateway port” – one that serves not just the region where we are, but areas significantly further to the east and north.
The plan is ambitious and bold. The port, however, has a track record of success combined with consistent incremental improvement that translates to their customers’ bottom line. So long as that continues, Georgia’s ports will continue to increase traffic, making larger annual contributions to our state’s economy as well.
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The Georgia Ports Authority announced record traffic for August this morning, as well as a bit more detail on the rail expansion noted above:
Savannah, Ga. – Sept. 19, 2016 – At the Georgia Ports Authority board meeting Monday, Executive Director Griff Lynch reported the GPA achieved an August record of 330,846 twenty-foot equivalent container units, a robust increase of 5 percent compared to August 2015.
“August container unit volumes were the third highest in the Authority’s history, behind April and May 2015 at the height of diverted cargo from the West Coast,” Lynch said. “Loaded imports continue to perform well, demonstrating a high level of diverted cargo retention.”
Total cargo across all terminals reached 2.62 million tons in August, an increase of 117,470 tons, or 4.7 percent.
“The Authority has started off the fiscal year on a strong footing, with positive year-over-year growth in both July and August,” said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. “Our volumes have exceeded previously forecasted levels, but are in line with expectations for the balance of FY2017.”
Lynch said he anticipates sustained market strength for GPA, adding that long-term growth will be enhanced by the new initiative announced last week, GPA’s Mid-American Arc. The initiative will focus on the growth of intermodal rail, extending the Port of Savannah’s reach to capture new markets ranging in an arc from Atlanta to Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago and the Ohio Valley.
A key facet of GPA’s Mid-American Arc plan, Lynch explained, is a “game-changing” rail expansion at Garden City Terminal. “We anticipate construction on our new, mega intermodal terminal to begin this March.”
He said additional track will allow the GPA to build unit trains 10,000 feet long on terminal. The ability to move 500 containers behind one locomotive will make more efficient use of track, lowering the per-container cost of transportation for GPA rail partners CSX and Norfolk Southern. “In turn, this is a powerful incentive for them to offer faster, more frequent service to vital inland markets,” Lynch added.
The Port of Savannah International Multi-modal Connector will link Garden City Terminal’s two rail yards, improving efficiency and growing the terminal’s rail lift capacity to approximately 1 million containers each year. The construction project will create the largest on-port rail facility of its kind on the U.S. East Coast – all within the terminal’s current footprint.
“The project is a multi-phased program that will reconfigure the Port of Savannah’s on-dock intermodal container transfer facilities to bring rail switching activities inside the port,” Lynch said.
The multi-modal connector includes five major improvements. The first is construction of two arrival/departure tracks and extension of the track east from Chatham Yard to new arrival/departure tracks. Second, the project includes rebuilding a bridge over new yard tracks and the Pipemakers Canal. “The bridge on SR 25 is the linchpin of the project, allowing us to operate linked rail yards without disturbing neighborhood traffic,” Lynch said.
Running beneath the overpass will be tracks from the Chatham Yard on the south end of the terminal extended as working tracks at Mason Yard, as well as two additional arrival/departure tracks. At the Mason Yard, the project will add two new working tracks, new storage tracks and high-capacity rail mounted cranes.
Schedule milestones to be complete by the fourth quarter of 2020 include:
SR 25 Overpass
Rail track connection between Chatham and Mason ICTF
Mason ICTF expanded to service both CSX and NS
Rail Mounted Gantry Cranes delivered and commissioned
The $128 million rail project is funded in part by a $44 million federal FASTLANE grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The remaining $84 million will be provided by GPA internal capital funds. The GPA is part of a three-way partnership with Chatham County and the Georgia Department of Transportation that is working together to design and construct the SR 25 Overpass. Chatham County is designing the bridge structure to be placed within GDOT right of way. Funding for the overpass construction will be provided through GPA’s FASTLANE grant.
Also at the authority’s meeting, Lynch updated the board on the progress of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. “To date, approximately 25 percent of the SHEP entrance channel dredging has been completed,” he said.
“Savannah, meanwhile, will be completely re-tooling its rail operations with an eye to the East.”
Does this mean they are going to add a bridge over the President St tracks? Please… Pretty Please…
1) Dammit, I meant West, and
2) I’m not familiar with the local street grid. I know the goal is to have multiple 2-mile long trains loading completely within the confines of Port property and re-aligning streets to minimize impact. From the above press release:
“The multi-modal connector includes five major improvements. The first is construction of two arrival/departure tracks and extension of the track east from Chatham Yard to new arrival/departure tracks. Second, the project includes rebuilding a bridge over new yard tracks and the Pipemakers Canal. “The bridge on SR 25 is the linchpin of the project, allowing us to operate linked rail yards without disturbing neighborhood traffic,” Lynch said.”
Now you’re just depressing me…
The track crossing E. President St serves a small wharf and local industry. I think it very unlikely a President St overpass is in the works. The area Charlie speaks of is the Garden City Terminal, crudely the intersection of Coastal Hwy and SR307 Borne Ave.
The problem is it has no switch area so the trains go back and forth a dozen times at a shot for periods well over the limited 10 mins. This backs up traffic on the Truman, and for well over a mile east on Presidents, and to west into the downtown and up bay street, some times all the way to MLK. It not about the train traffic, it’s about the road traffic. The rail use has increased as the state exports more goods, plus it moves large amounts of chemical cars. If the city hopes to reduse truck traffic through the downtown, rail traffic will only increase more. In fact the City is closing down truck traffic on Bay street at night for two weeks as part of their silly traffic study, so traffic will increase on the road, less containers moved of the small wharf, back up that train yard even more.
Additional positive news is that the Ports Authority will no longer give out the ridiculously high compensation packages to execs.
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/georgia-port-officials-defend-top-execs-pay-critic/nsNZm/
Glad to hear about enhanced rail capacity at GPA—I hear horror stories of traffic on I-75 especially between southside of Atlanta and Macon—too many cars and tractor trailers mixed in–so anything that can reduce additional truck traffic welcome. With the decline in coal traffic across the country, intermodal probably offers the best opportunity for growth in the railroad industry—BNSF especially has become a leader of intermodal with its long-distance routes between Chicago and the west coast. In light of the growth in Savannah, surprised to see that CSX is downgrading its Atlanta-Augusta line (lower speeds), which seems to be the most direct CSX route between Atlanta and Savannah—as opposed to the longer way of going via Cordele and Waycross and then going northeast to Savannah, or going east on CSX’s Athens line to Greenwood, SC and then over curvy, hilly line from there to Augusta and then Savannah. I heard CSX was lowering the speed on the Augusta line from a maximum of 49 to 25—the 25 apparently ideal for serving local customers, but inadequate for intermodal traffic.
Georgia Power decommissioning Plant Branch, located between Milledgeville and Eatonton, cost the Atlanta-Augusta line lost two coal trains per day (one loaded to and one empty from). The Atlanta-Augusta line, the last time I checked a few years ago, was generally 50mph maximum speed and had two intermodal trains per day. A reduction to 25mph is a bit of a surprise, though reduction to 40mph isn’t.
Service between Cordele and Garden City Terminal is Class 2 track maximum 25mph, not high speed. Freight volumes don’t warrant the additional track expenses required for higher speed. I’d guess intermodal volume would need to nearly triple to warrant increasing track speed to 40mph, the maximum speed for Class 3 track.