Cargo surge pushes Port of Savannah to 5.6M container record

By RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The Port of Savannah is reporting record cargo volumes for 2021 thanks to a surge in trade that saw its container yard cramped for space and ships waiting at sea. The Georgia Ports Authority said Tuesday that the number of shipping containers moved through Savannah’s port jumped a whopping 20% last year, to 5.6 million container units. Economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has driven up demand for consumer goods shipped in containers, and ports have struggled to keep up across the U.S. The Port of Savannah, the nation’s fourth-busiest container port, helped deal with the crush of cargo by opening up temporary storage sites further inland.