What started less than two years ago as a field trip designed to familiarize area high school students with the logistics industry has blossomed into a full-fledged program with the ability to shape the future maritime workforce in Savannah and beyond.
The brainchild of Freightliner Trucks sales exec David “Fish” Mihuta and Robert Dowd of Savannah’s Port City Logistics, “Follow the Container” allowed high school students and their teachers to see what’s involved in getting merchandise from manufacturer to store shelf.
Starting at Georgia Ports’ Garden City Terminal, where containers are unloaded onto trucks, the group followed a container from ship to truck, through customs and security and over the road to a designated warehouse/distribution facility. There, they watched as it was unloaded and “cross-docked” — palletized, repackaged and reloaded for shipping to the final customer.
Georgia Ports Authority, Savannah Technical College and freight forwarder D.J. Powers were among the first to sign on to help Freightliner and Port City sponsor the field trips, each offering a presentation on the types of jobs available in the logistics area.
“Follow the container” has now evolved into the Maritime Logistics Education Taskforce, a collaboration of resources designed to reach, educate and grow the current and future workforce of the logistics and maritime industry in Savannah and the surrounding areas.
Thursday night, the group, which has joined forces with the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, held an informational meeting on its upcoming internship program.
Targeting high school juniors and seniors in the four area high schools with logistics, engineering, manufacturing, marketing and international business career pathways, the program is also aligned with Gov. Nathan Deal’s “Go Build Georgia” initiative.
The 10-week internships will begin in February for selected students at Groves, Jenkins and Johnson high schools as well as the Woodville-Tompkins Technical and Career High School.
Funded by a collaboration of logistics professionals, the program is designed to implement a new model of teaching and learning through the use of internships, job shadowing and apprenticeships, Mihuta said.
To learn more about the internships, call 912-395-6765.
Logistics Summit plans shaping up
On March 19-20, the Georgia Logistics Summit will celebrate its fifth anniversary with an event that grows in scope and attendance every year.
This year’s event hosted some 1,600 attendees from 28 states and seven nations – 85 percent of them from across the private sector. Next year’s summit, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, features a full agenda consisting of multiple keynotes and an agenda and activities purposefully created with input directly from the logistics industry.
The 2013 partners and sponsors include such logistics heavyweights as Coca-Cola, CSX Transportation, Delta Cargo, Georgia Ports Authority, Georgia Power, Manhattan Associates, Microsoft, Norfolk Southern, Red Prairie, Home Depot and UPS.
Go to www.georgialogistics.com to learn more.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
These are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean Terminals in the next week. Sailing schedules are provided by Georgia Ports Authority and are subject to change.
Terminal Ship name Arrival
GPA MSC SARISKA today
GPA PRESIDENT ADAMS today
GPA CMA CGM CORAL today
GPA MSC TOKYO Saturday
GPA MSC TEXAS Saturday
GPA NEW DELHI EXPRESS Saturday
GPA WASHINGTON EXPRESS Saturday
GPA AL-MUTANABBI Saturday
GPA CMA CGM ATTILA Saturday
GPA TOKYO EXPRESS Saturday
GPA CGM UTRILLO Saturday
GPA ROTTERDAM EXPRESS Sunday
GPA EVER DELUXE Sunday
GPA SAN FRANCISCO EXPRESS Sunday
GPA JULIETTE RICKMERS Sunday
GPA YM MILESTONE Monday
GPA MSC KRYSTAL Monday
GPA GENOA EXPRESS Monday
GPA YM EMINENCE Monday
GPA HANJIN CHITTAGONG Monday
GPA SCT ZURICH Tuesday
GPA APL JADE Tuesday
GPA ZIM LUANDA Tuesday
GPA MSC VITTORIA Tuesday
GPA MUKADDES KALKAVAN Tuesday
GPA SCT ZURICH Tuesday
GPA SEA-LAND EAGLE Wednesday
GPA HYUNDAI FORWARD Wednesday
GPA PUSAN Wednesday
GPA NYK DELPHINUS Wednesday
GPA MOL PREMIUM Wednesday
GPA GLORY Wednesday
GPA HANJIN MARSEILLES Wednesday
GPA OOCL HONG KONG Thursday
GPA CONRAD S Thursday
GPA HOLSATIA Thursday
GPA ISLANDIA Thursday
GPA HOLSATIA Thursday
GPA XIN SU ZHOU Thursday
GPA ZIM BARCELONA Thursday
GPA MAERSK IDAHO Thursday
GPA MSC ALICANTE Thursday
OT TAMPA today
OT GRANDE GUINEA Saturday
OT PEACE Saturday
OT TEXAS Tuesday
OT ANGEL ISLAND Tuesday
OT BBC PEARL Wednesday
OT TIGER Thursday