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July might have been Georgia Ports’ best month ever for containers, but it turns out the first half of 2014 wasn’t so shabby either.
According to PIERS, the Journal of Commerce Group’s data-reporting arm, the fastest-growing U.S. port in terms of containerized imports was none other than the Port of Savannah, with volumes up 12.1 percent compared to the first half of 2013.
Not Los Angeles, not Long Beach, not New York/New Jersey.
Savannah.
Import volumes on the East Coast were up 5.4 percent compared with the first half of 2013, while West Coast containerized imports grew at a slower rate of 4.1 percent, according to JOC associate editor Corianne Egan.
In fact, Egan reports, the East Coast was home to three of the fastest-growing ports in the U.S. for import containers. Following Savannah was the Port of Virginia, growing by 11.4 percent year-over-year, and Port Everglades at 10.7 percent.
“We’ve definitely had a good, strong start to the calendar year,” said GPA executive director Curtis Foltz. “Our overall container traffic through July has been up about 7.5 percent, while most U.S. ports are in the 3.5 to 4 percent range.”
While Foltz conceded some of the additional traffic could be coming from shippers worried about a potential work stoppage on the West Coast, he suggested most of it was the result of an overall strong year.
“We expect the next three months to be strong as well. We should end the calendar year up somewhere in the 6 to 7 percent range and expect we’ll be the only port to do so,” he said.
“Between our in-place assets and infrastructure investments and our strong partnership with the ILA, we will continue to provide the outstanding service our customers deserve.”
Even more on way?
It’s been nearly two months since the contract between West Coast dockworkers and management expired, with the two parties still negotiating behind closed doors. And, while there have been no significant disruptions in cargo movement since talks began, retailers are growing increasingly concerned.
In a letter sent earlier this week to both sides, the president of one of the world’s largest retail shipping groups warned that the uncertainty surrounding the negotiations could prompt retailers that are already hedging their bets with alternate routes to consider making those changes more permanent.
“While goods continue to move
at an efficient rate through the West Coast ports of entry, each day without a finalized agreement jeopardizes the movement of goods destined for shelves during the all-important holiday season,” Retail Industry Leaders Association President Sandra Kennedy told International Longshore and Warehouse Union President Robert McEllrath and Pacific Maritime Association President and CEO James McKenna.
Kennedy’s group represents companies such as JCPenney, Home Depot, Foot Locker and PetSmart. RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs and more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers domestically and abroad.
“As those familiar with global supply chains know, modifications to the massive supply chain plans of the retail industry take time to implement and even longer to undo. With the continued uncertainty of a finalized contract, retailers will continue to search out more reliable channels in the interest of preserving the viability of their supply chains,” Kennedy said, hinting that the U.S. East Coast, in the first year of a six-year contract between labor and management, could provide an inviting
– and potentially permanent – solution.
“The American economy, businesses, retailers and consumers, all depend on a stable global supply chain to ensure that they have access to the goods that they need,” she said. “It is our hope that both sides are engaged in open and honest discussions, moving with haste toward a long-term solution that will stabilize the labor picture on the West Coast.”
Life jacket loaners
Sea Tow Foundation opened six new Life Jacket Loaner stations Thursday to provide life jackets in various sizes for boaters to borrow free of charge for a safe and fun day on the water.
The loaners are made possible through a $7,664 donation from brewery giant Anheuser-Busch and its local partner, Southern Eagle Distributing.
The loaner stands are located at Isle of Hope Marina, Hilton Head Harbor Marina, Fort McAllister Marina in Richmond Hill, Shellman Fish Camp in Townsend, Morningstar Marina on St. Simons Island and St. Simons Island Marina.
The nonprofit Sea Tow Foundation’s Life Jacket Loaner Program has loaned more than 22,000 life jackets to boaters since 2008. For more information and a list of Life Jacket Loaner Stations in the U.S., go to it www.boatingsafety.com.
“It’s an established fact that life jackets save lives,” said Gail Kulp, foundation executive director. “We are very grateful to our partners at Southern Eagle and Anheuser-Busch for making these life jacket loaner stations possible.”
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
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.
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