In surprise, Georgia port officials report record month

Georgia port officials say they were surprised by the record amount of cargo that went through Savannah in August.

The port was expected to take a significant hit because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that workers there instead moved 1% more cargo than they did during their previous best month ever.

And most of that was imports. The growth of e-commerce is boosting the port.

“We underestimated the importance of Savannah in the supply chain,” Griff Lynch, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, told the AJC. “And this happened when there are so many ports that are down double-digits.”

Lynch said the rise in trade through Georgia is responsible for some of the declines at other ports in the country.

Georgia port officials are expecting more good numbers in September and October.