Savannah Chamber

31 announcement, the Savannah JDA is commissioning a workforce development study and actionable plan to address specific workforce challenges that will arise over the next several years. Liberty County manufacturers employ about 2,108 workers. This is an increase of about 120 workers representing a 6% gain over 2021. The county's largest employer, SNF Corporation employs approximately 1,700 persons and is the second largest manufacturing employer in the seven-county Savannah combined statistical area. Georgia Ports Authority The Georgia Ports Authority operates the leading container export in the country with the largest container capacity in the western hemisphere. Georgia's logistics ecosystem provides the environment for GPA's and Georgia's economic success on a worldwide basis. By facilitating global trade, GPA enables international business to thrive here in Georgia. The state's political and business leadership view GPA facilities as a state-level asset, one which yields an annual contribution of $59 billion to state GDP, $3.8 billion in state and local taxes. Port activity supports 561,000 jobs in Georgia and contributes $33 billion to Georgia's income. In FY 2022 the Port of Savannah handled a record 5.8 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), an increase of 8.1% from the previous year. Additionally, the Port of Savannah moved 22% of the east coast container trade and handled almost 12% of all U.S. containerized exports in 2022. Despite nationwide logistical and supply chain snarls, GPA has expanded rapidly to accommodate the current and projected increases in container volume. For immediate relief, six pop-up yards added an additional 500,000 TEUs to capacity, and the GPA hired 1,200 new drivers over three months to serve Garden City Terminal. In the latter half of 2022, backlog of containers steadily decreased and is expected to be resolved in early 2023. During the past 15 years, container volume has increased 6.2% per year, more than double the U.S. average, making GPA's Savannah facilities America's fastest growing major port. As a result of long-term strategic planning, business development, and investment in port facilities, Savannah's ports continue to showcase a substantial competitive advantage. Current and long-term expansions are projected to increase the Port of Savannah's capacity by 60 percent, growing from 6 million TEUs to 9.5 million TEUs by 2025. The ongoing Peak Capacity Project has added 1.2 million TEUs to Garden City Terminal, and the Garden City West Terminal Project will add an additional 90 acres of container storage and 1 million TEUs by 2024. In addition, the expansion of Berth 1 will increase dock capacity by 25 percent, adding 1.5 million TEUs to capacity. The expansion is slated to be completed by Spring 2023. Throughout 2022, the GPA board has approved $1.17 billion in infrastructure advancements, which include investments in berths, container yards, and rail infrastructure. Renovation of the Ocean Terminal is scheduled to start in January 2023 and will convert the terminal into an all-container operation, shifting breakbulk cargo to the Port of Brunswick. Redevelopment of 75 percent of the container yard will add additional warehouse space and container storage is 20 percent complete and is expected to be finished in July 2025. The reconfiguring of Berths 12 and 13 will allow the terminal to service 18,000+ TEU vessels and is expected to be completed in March 2026. Lastly, seven new ship to shore cranes were contracted in March 2022, and will be installed at Ocean Terminal upon delivery. To accommodate the shift of breakbulk cargo from Ocean Terminal, GPA's Brunswick facilities will receive a $212 million investment infusion for the expansion of berth and terminal capacity. The two-year construction plan is underway and calls for adding 360,000 square feet of warehousing, 85 acres of auto processing, and an additional 1,300 feet of berthing space. A fourth berth on Colonel's Island will be able to accommodate larger vessels of 7,000+ vehicles. The annual capacity is expected to increase from 1.2 million to 1.4 million vehicles.

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