by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The Georgia Ports Authority experienced its third busiest October on record, handling 494,261 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), the agency reported Thursday.
That number fell short only of October 2021 and October 2022, when more than half a million TEUs crossed the docks at the Port of Savannah.
Last month’s numbers were driven in part by record trade though the Appalachian Regional Port near Chatsworth. The inland port set an October high of 3,666 rail lifts, up 4.4% over October of last year.
The Georgia ports of Savannah and Brunswick were shut down in late September and early last month by a labor dispute involving the union representing dockworkers along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. A tentative agreement suspended the strike until Jan. 15 to allow the parties to negotiate a settlement allowed the ports to reopen.
“Despite the cargo increases this year, many customers continue to divert to the U.S. West Coast while the contract negotiations are ongoing,” said Griff Lynch, the ports authority’s president and CEO.
In other news, the ports received a $46 million federal grant through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports program in October to install electrification infrastructure to support ships at berth to plug-in to shore power and turn off auxiliary-powered diesel engines.
The grant also will pay to replace diesel terminal tractors with electric models and charging infrastructure.
