From: http://savannahnow.com/opinion/2011-09-29/editorialsavannahs-port-were-no-2
SOMETIMES IT feels good to be No. 2. Such is the case with the Georgia Ports Authority, which now operates the second-busiest container port for exports in the United States.
Only Los Angeles handles more of those metal boxes than Savannah does. And Georgia now moves more than New York-Newark, which is now fifth. So that makes Savannah the busiest export port on the East Coast.
But when you’re No. 2, you still have to try harder — especially since much of these gains could erode if
Savannah doesn’t deepen its harbor.
The current 42-foot depth of the shipping channel is the shallowest of 24 of the world’s major ports, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The depth for most of those ports is in the 48- to 52-foot range.
Size matters in the shipping business. And time is money. An enlarged Panama Canal means bigger ships carrying more containers to places that can handle them most efficiently. That’s why port deepening is critical to the future here and the rest of Georgia.
But it’s not just about boats and trucks. It’s about trains, too.
The stacks of containers streaming in and out of the booming Savannah port atop rail cars have jumped 21 percent during fiscal year 2011. The total also represents a whopping 191-percent gain over the past decade. CSX now has eight trains a week serving the port. Norfork Southern has 11.
Thus the investments made in intermodal rail service are paying off, which helps keep Georgia’s economy moving forward. And watch out, L.A. Once the harbor is deepened, the title for No. 1 will be on the line.
Reposted by A. Joseph Marshall
Commercial Real Estate Agent
Savannah, Ga.
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