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In the logistics business, time is money.
On that note, Georgia Ports Authority has introduced an initiative to save customers money by helping them develop more efficient cargo handling beyond the port.
“Our view is that to compete at the highest levels, we must do more than offer superior services within the terminal gates,” GPA executive director Curtis Foltz said Thursday.
“To win more cargo for Georgia, we have to help clients coordinate the fastest, most cost effective logistics plan to reach essential markets across the Southeast.”
The new program, designed around GPA rail capacity, is called Rapid Routes.
“Rail is an important facet of extending customers’ reach into the hinterlands,” Foltz said. “So we have begun our Rapid Routes program with an outreach effort informing customers of our competitive advantages in rail.”
Georgia Ports Garden City Terminal is the only container port on the East Coast that can boast two on-site rail yards served by Class I providers.
Through Norfolk Southern and CSX, GPA overnight service to a five-state area — Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The Port of Savannah also offers two-day service to Birmingham and Huntsville, Ala.; Miami, Orlando and Tampa, Fla.; and Memphis and Nashville, Tenn.
Port officials said Savannah features the fastest rail connections of any East Coast port to Louisiana and Texas.
John Trent, senior director of strategic operations for GPA, said the two on-terminal rail yards do more than eliminate the need to haul containers to off-site locations.
“Our streamlined operation means faster train turnover and more daily departures,” Trent said. “Combined, Norfolk Southern and CSX average 18 inbound and 18 outbound trains per week — delivering more choices to reach inland markets.”
The port moved more than a quarter-million containers by rail for the fiscal year through March, a 7 percent increase over the same period last year. Nearly 20 percent of GPA’s total container volume moves by rail.
“The Port of Savannah is a hundred miles closer to Atlanta than any other port,” Foltz said. That’s significant because Atlanta serves as a major hub for rail and truck traffic, he added.
To better communicate Savannah’s rail advantages, the GPA has developed an eight-page brochure that includes a full rail schedule, with arrival and departure times at the Port of Savannah intermodal yards for 11 markets, ranging from Winter Haven, Fla., to Cincinnati and Chicago in the Midwest.
The new brochure is just one tool in the GPA’s broader effort to help customers develop the fastest, most economical chain of logistics for their needs, Foltz said.
The printed piece will be distributed to current and potential GPA customers who require rail services.
A digital version of the brochure is available at gaports.com/Media/Documents.
More on the Waving Girl
Eagle Scout candidate Jack Novack presented to the City Council on Thursday his plan to make the Waving Girl statue on River Street more visible.
Novack said Savannah is the “Hostess City” and the statue plays a part in that by greeting ships upon their arrival.
He would like to remove the trees around the statue so that it is more visible from the water, after already having some trees and underbrush removed.
While offering no opinion on the plan, aldermen commended Novack for his effort and accomplishments.
The plan is conceptual right now and will be reviewed before any trees are removed, said Jerry Flemming, Savannah park and tree department director.
Senior business writer Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Reach her at 912-652-0324 or mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
City government reporter Eric Curl contributed to this report.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
Following are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean terminals this week. Schedules are supplied by GPA and are subject to change.
TERMINAL VESSEL ETA
GCT ZIM QINGDAO Today
GCT PARTICI Today
GCT MSC ALESSIA Today
GCT CSAV LEBU Today
GCT MAERSK IDAHO Today
GCT HANJIN DURBAN Today
GCT MSC ERMINIA Saturday
GCT SAIGON EXPRESS Saturday
GCT JPO VELA Saturday
GCT MSC MARIA ELENA Saturday
GCT NYK DIANA Saturday
GCT CMA CGM FIGARO Sunday
GCT HOUSTON EXPRESS Sunday
GCT ZIM ONTARIO Sunday
GCT ST LOUIS EXPRESS Sunday
GCT VENICE BRIDGE Sunday
OT BBC SEINE Sunday
OT TITANIA Sunday
OT SALOME Sunday
GCT MAERSK CHICAGO Monday
GCT CLARICE Monday
GCT NYK LAURA Monday
GCT ASIR Monday
GCT EVER DELIGHT Tuesday
GCT MUKADDES KALKAVAN Tuesday
GCT STADT GERA Tuesday
GCT MOL EXPRESS Tuesday
GCT OOCL KUALA LUMPUR Tuesday
OT CI YUN SHAN Tuesday
OT STAR JAVA Tuesday
OT BAHRI TABUK Tuesday
GCT MOL MAXIM Wednesday
GCT MSC JUDITH Wednesday
GCT ISLANDIA Wednesday
GCT APL PEARL Wednesday
GCT MSC ROMA Wednesday
GCT MAERSK KOKURA Wednesday
GCT HANJIN MONTEVIDEO Wednesday
GCT DUESSELDORF EXPRESS Thursday
GCT ZIM CONSTANZA Thursday
GCT DALLAS EXPRESS Thursday
GCT ALSIA SWAN Thursday
GCT MAERSK OHIO Thursday
GCT WARNOW ORCA Thursday
GCT ZIM PIRAEUS Thursday
GCT NYK RIGEL Thursday
GCT SUEZ CANAL BRIDGE Thursday