Georgia Ports Authority marks decade of partnership with Kia
During a board meeting held at the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Ports Authority recognized a decade of partnership between Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia and GPA, the company said in its release.
Over the past decade, the automaker has shipped nearly 350,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units through the Port of Savannah in support of its manufacturing plant near West Point, Ga. As one of GPA’s largest container customers, Kia’s volumes support thousands of jobs throughout Georgia’s transportation and logistics supply chain.
Just last month, KMMG President and CEO Jason Shin hosted Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for a tour of the auto plant. Kemp was there to celebrate the start of production of the all-new Kia Telluride SUV. With the Telluride, KMMG makes its first major foray into the export trade. Kia’s Georgia production had previously served only North American buyers.
In other business, the GPA board reviewed fiscal year to date results (July 2018 - Feb. 2019), which included 8.8 percent growth in container volumes, adding 239,022 TEUs compared to the same period last year, for a total of 2.97 million TEUs.
Roll-on/Roll-off cargo at Colonel’s Island Terminal in Brunswick and Ocean Terminal in Savannah is up 6 percent, or 24,300 units of cars, trucks and tractors, for a total of 428,303 units for the fiscal year to date.
To keep up with Savannah’s container growth, the board approved the purchase of 20 rubber-tired gantry cranes. When the RTGs are commissioned in late 2020, they will bring the Port of Savannah’s fleet to 178.
While the GPA has seen record cargo totals for the fiscal year to date, the Authority experienced a decline in February container volumes of 8.5 percent (29,052 TEUs) for a total of 312,042 TEUs.
