SAVANNAH, Ga. – New findings from Georgia Tech researchers show the Port of Savannah saves shippers more than $1,000 per container to Atlanta, Memphis and Nashville, compared to West Coast gateways.
The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) released the data on Thursday.
“Our research shows that when shippers evaluate total landed cost and end-to-end reliability, routing cargo through Savannah provides a clear economic advantage compared to West Coast routes,” said Chris Gaffney, managing director of the Supply Chain and Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech. “For Atlanta, Memphis and Nashville, routing cargo through Savannah reduces congestion exposure, saves shippers money and delivers more consistent, predictable transit performance.”
GPA cited a previous, Atlanta-focused study that showed similar benefits: Shorter overland routes from Savannah result in fewer cargo handoffs and lower overall transport costs, even when factoring in longer ocean routes from Asia to the U.S. East Coast.
“In today’s business environment when lower cost and value are drivers for any decision, Savannah is clearly the best provider of great service and lower cost,” said Georgia Ports President and CEO Griff Lynch.
Additionally, GPA shared that the Port of Savannah delivers not only shorter routes to Eastern U.S. markets, but on-terminal rail and direct interstate access. GPA leads the industry in speed to market, with average rail dwell at 20 hours between vessel offload and departing train.
In their latest work, researchers factored in both vessel and inland transit from ten Asian ports to Memphis, Nashville and Atlanta. The findings showed Savannah compensates for longer ocean routes with highly reliable port processing and inland transport, eliminating the high variance and congestion risks associated with West Coast routes.
PhD students and professors from Georgia Tech’s Supply Chain and Logistics Institute conducted the study, “Gateway Choice is a Total Cost and Time Reliability Decision, Not an Ocean Rate Decision,” at the institute’s Physical Internet Center.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
