Just to add another twist to this discussion, one article I found also reviewed airports as "ports" for cargo:
Top 10 Busiest USA Cargo Ports
Rank Airport Name Location Cargo (in lbs)
1 Memship International Airport Memphis, Tennessee 21,891,425,638
2 Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport Anchorage, Alaska 14,982,410,652
3 Louisville International Airport Louisville, Kentucky 11,264,596,650
4 O’Hare International Airport Chicago, Illinois 6,864,249,348
5 Miami International Airport Miami, Florida 6,847,177,300
6 Indianapolis International Airport Indianapolis, Indiana 5,268,916,355
7 Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles, California 4,199,375,809
8 Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Cincinnati, Ohio 3,422,731,214
9 John F. Kennedy International Airport New York, New York 3,372,770,377
10 Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Fort Worth, Texas 3,062,528,160
The same article had this to say about Savannah's port:
The Port of Savannah is the fourth largest port in North America and the #16 busiest port in the world. The port is located in Savannah, Georgia.
The Port of Savannah is important for freight trucking because it is a major gateway for imports from both Asia and Europe to the US. In addition, the port also handles a significant amount of containerized freight from other ports on the East Coast of the United States.
What makes this port unique is that it is one of the few deepwater ports on the East Coast of the United States that can accommodate large container ships. In 2020, the Port of Savannah shipped 2.4 million TEU.
https://cowtownexpress.com/blog/top-largest-us-ports-major-usa-cargo-hubs-guideAnother article had this to say about Savannah's advantages:
Savannah Port is home to the biggest single-terminal container area, one of its kind in North America. It includes two deepwater terminals called the Garden City Terminal and the Ocean Terminal.
The Garden City Terminal is the 4th busiest container handling facility in the U.S, covering over 1200 acres and handling millions of tonnes of containerised cargo each year.
The Ocean Terminal is the port’s breakbulk and RORO facility, spanning 201 acres. It also has over 1.4 million square feet of covered storage area.
The natural landlocked harbour 15 nautical miles up the Savannah River from the Atlantic Ocean is operated by the Georgia Ports Authority. Apart from these 2 terminals, there are many private berth operators and a Free Trade Zone.
Savannah Port imports sugar, cement, textiles, ores, steel, machines, petroleum products, forest products, gypsum and exports kaolin clay, vegetable oil and grain oil seed, scrap iron, peanuts, wood pulp, paper and machines used in agriculture.
Approximately 2100 ships, 2,950,000 TEUs and 26,100,000 tonnes of cargo are handled at the Georgia Ports annually.
As a major east coast port, Savannah is undergoing repairs to increase its handling capacity. It is improving its intermodal system to increase its market share of the midwest and make it a preferred choice for many and much more cost-efficient.
https://www.marineinsight.com/know-more/major-u-s-east-coast-ports/Then there is this:
Georgia Port Expanding to Become Country’s Largest Auto Port
Expansion Projects Will Push Port of Brunswick Past Baltimore as Top US Automobile Port
JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. — The Port of Brunswick’s ascent as one of the United States’ leading hubs for automobile imports and exports over the last decade has threatened to outpace the facility’s capacity.
Not anymore.
During the annual Brunswick State of the Ports luncheon on Oct. 30, Georgia Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch highlighted expansion projects that will allow Brunswick to surpass the Port of Baltimore as the nation’s top port for roll-on, roll-off cargo as early as 2026. The improvements include the addition of a fourth ship berth at Brunswick’s main terminal at Colonel’s Island and a widening and deepening of the Brunswick harbor.
“We will be the No. 1 port when we stand before you at this event in 2026,” Lynch told members of the Brunswick Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce at the Jekyll Island Convention Center. “That’s not meant as a way for us to bang on our chests, it’s to stimulate our economy and the state’s economy.”
The Port of Brunswick and other ports authority facilities support 561,000 jobs and contribute $59 billion annually to the state’s gross domestic product, a study by the University of Georgia showed.
Brunswick is one of two coastal seaports in the Georgia Ports Authority. Brunswick handles automobiles, heavy equipment and other wheeled vehicles along with breakbulk cargo, or goods too large to fit into shipping containers. The Port of Savannah is GPA’s container port and ranks as the third-busiest in the country.
Even with the focus on Brunswick, the Port of Savannah was top of mind. Gov. Brian Kemp issued letters on Oct. 30 addressed to each member of Georgia’s congressional delegation expressing support for a Savannah River deepening study.
Georgia Ports officials have asked Congress to authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to explore a widening and deepening of the Savannah shipping channel as part of the 2024 Water Resources Development Act.
“GPA is vital to our national supply chain and as a job creator for our state. It is critical we work together to ensure GPA can continue to accommodate ever-larger container vessels calling on our ports,” Kemp wrote.
The federal government is investing in the Brunswick harbor. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) told attendees at the Oct. 30 luncheon the U.S. House has included nearly $20 million for Brunswick in an appropriations bill passed in recent days.
According to Lynch, the Brunswick channel has not been at the proper depth or width “for years now.” The federal dollars pledged should allow the harbor modification project to begin in fall 2024 and be completed in 2026.
The improvements should coincide with Brunswick passing Baltimore as the nation’s busiest roll-on, roll-off port. Brunswick cargo growth rate has nearly tripled Baltimore’s since 2012, including an 18% increase in the fiscal year that ended June 30. Brunswick handled a record 723,500 vehicles.
Expansion projects now underway will boost the Georgia terminal’s capacity to 1.4 million vehicles. The planned fourth ship berth is in the engineering stage and is designed to accommodate the largest roll-on, roll-off ships, those that transport 7,000 vehicles at a time. Once completed, the berth equates to two more vessel calls each week, Lynch said.
The expansion is meant to handle continued traffic growth as well as roll-on, roll-off ships that previously called on Ocean Terminal at the Port of Savannah. That facility is being converted into a container terminal, and 19,000 cars processed annually through Ocean Terminal will be rerouted to Brunswick.
By the end of the year, all auto freight through the Georgia Ports Authority will pass through Brunswick.
“By concentrating on containers in Savannah and autos and machinery in Brunswick, we are able to streamline our operations and provide more efficient service to both of our main business sectors as cargo volumes continue to grow,” Lynch said.
Brunswick is utilized by 23 carmakers, with the bulk of the business coming from Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes, Nissan and Subaru. Three-quarters of the cars handled are imports, although two auto assembly plants currently under construction in the state will feed into Brunswick’s export business.
The Hyundai Metaplant near Savannah is to begin production in late 2024 or early 2025 while a Rivian factory near Social Circle is expected to open in 2026.
Georgia Ports officials could not forecast the increase in business related to those facilities, citing guidance from the automakers that much of the autos produced in Georgia will be for domestic sale.
Brunswick is due to receive an influx of vehicle imports from two ports on Mexico’s east coast: Altamira and Veracruz. Nissan and Kia operate manufacturing facilities near Altamira while Volkswagen makes cars near Veracruz. Ocean carrier and ports customer CMA-CGM established a service route in July, and another freight titan, Gold Star, will begin transporting autos to Brunswick in November.
This Mexico-to-the-U.S. “nearshoring” trend, combined with an increase in the supply of roll-on, roll-off ships, should push Brunswick’s automobile throughput to 1 million vehicles a year by 2030, Lynch said.
https://www.ttnews.com/articles/port-brunswick-expanding
