A massive expansion plan at the Port of Savannah would more than double its container capacity by 2025 and deliver lucrative job opportunities for CDL professionals.
“In the near future, you will see new berth capacity, larger cranes, expanded truck gates, and a broader network of rail connections than ever previously envisioned at Savannah and Brunswick,” Georgia Ports Authority board chairman Joel Wooten reportedly said.
The 60-percent boost in container transportation would maintain its lower East Coast dominance. In 2020, the Georgia port managed 4.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). That volume surged by a reported 20 percent in 2021 to 5.6 million TEU. After the supply chain bottlenecks experienced during the second half of 2021, port officials recognized expansion was necessary. Over the next three years, the expansion project aims to ramp up capacity to 9.5 million TEU annually.
“We’ve always had a buffer, more capacity than demand. That buffer has been eliminated, and we want to get out ahead of things again,” Georgia Ports Authority executive director Griff Lynch reportedly said. “The public and private investment that we’re seeing, as well as the number of people being drawn to the business, make Savannah the hottest market in the country for transportation and logistics.”
The Port of Georgia consistently ranks among the Top 5 facilities in the U.S. Rivaled only by the Port of New York and New Jersey on the East Coast, officials estimate the state will experience 7.5 million TEU during 2022 based on 18 months consecutive months of higher volume. Upwards of 30 cargo ships were stuck idling off the coast during the peak supply chain logjam. That drove state leaders to invest $3 billion in infrastructure over the next decade.
“The Georgia Ports Authority retains its position as the fastest-growing port in the nation for 15 years now,” Lynch reportedly said. “We are now the hub port for the southeast. We are the gateway port and the first choice for customers coming to the southeast.”
Truckers planning lucrative container hauling careers would be wise to take a long look at Georgia. With the fourth-largest port, the state saw a surge in Asian imports that increased total import volume to $98.8 billion last year. The Census Bureau now ranks Georgia as the 11th busiest state and its exports topped $40.6 billion.
“Since mid-November, we have seen an increase of 90 drivers per week to the tune of 1,200 additional drivers to our system,” Lynch reportedly said. “When we talk about rail, rail is really important, but it’s 20 percent of our business. That’s how cargo comes and goes throughout the facility. Eighty percent is through truck. So, we need to continue to grow that trucking base.”
Sources: fitsnews.com, ajc.com, wjcl.com
If the job paid more and Company idiots had better equipment then u could find better skilled drivers
Why not tell the parasites on the communist welfare state programs to get their CDL and put them to work? Two problems solved: fewer parasites and more trucks available.