Georgia’s port volume got a substantial boost from shippers in the five counties that make up metropolitan Atlanta in the last year.
In his second annual State of the Port address, Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz said the ports of Savannah and Brunswick had handled more than $8 billion in cargo for the Metro Atlanta area during the 2010 fiscal year ended June 30.
Foltz highlighted six port customers that chose to locate or expand in Georgia in FY2010, due to its superior logistics and transportation system. The companies, representing more than 3,800 new jobs in the Metro Atlanta Area, include: The Clorox Company, Colgate-Palmolive Company, General Mills, Kubota Tractor Corporation, NCR Corporation and ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
“These new announcements and jobs created during a difficult economy are the result of Georgia’s premier ability to move cargo through the most efficient and effective logistics network in the Southeast,” said GPA’s Chairman of the Board Alec L. Poitevint. “Georgia’s deepwater ports are one of the brightest spots in the Georgia economy right now.”
The GPA handled more than 2.63 million 20-foot equivalent container units in fiscal 2010, an increase of 9.7 percent compared with the previous fiscal year. Overall, the GPA posted its best year ever for exports in FY2010.
During Foltz’s presentation, he released a new cargo value report for Metro Atlanta for fiscal 2010, which showed more than $8 billion was shipped through the Port of Savannah.