Georgia Tech research shows Port of Savannah saves $1K per container for shippers

Shippers using the Port of Savannah save more than $1,000 per container that headed to Atlanta, Memphis and Nashville, compared to ports on the West Coast.

“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.”

A previous, Atlanta-focused study 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.

Along with shorter routes, the Port of Savannah offers on-terminal rail and direct interstate access to Eastern markets in the U.S. In fact, studies show Savannah leads the industry in speed to market, with an average time of 20 hours between vessel offload and departing train.

In their latest work, Georgia Tech researchers factored in both vessel and inland transit from10 Asian ports to Memphis, Nashville and Atlanta. The findings indicated Savannah makes up for longer ocean routes with reliable port processing and inland transport, eliminating the high variance and congestion risks associated with West Coast routes.