More Proof that Container Traffic is leaving the West Coast and Moving East, via the new Panamax Lane of the Panama Canal

In the May 29th digital issue of Railway Age, this was a headline:  

Plans underway for “largest single-terminal container facility in the western hemisphere”

A Hapag Lloyd vessel with a capacity of 13,300 twenty-foot equivalent container units is worked at the Georgia Ports Authority Garden City Terminal in Savannah, Ga. (Georgia Ports Authority/Stephen B. Morton)

The St. Louis Regional Freightway and the Port of Savannah are forging a partnership to create a new connection between the St. Louis, Mo., region and what aims to be “the largest single-terminal container facility in the western hemisphere.”

To cut to the chase, Savannah, Georgia is the fourth largest container gateway behind the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach California and New York/North (New) Jersey.  The Port of Savannah is now marketing itself and has identified St. Louis as the HUB with which it will start to serve as a Demand Center.  The Port of Savannah is betting (with good reasoning) that it can ship containers quicker and cheaper to St. Louis than can the Twin Ports of LA and Long Beach.  First the trip from Savannah to St. Louis is shorter than the trip from LA/Long Beach, California.  Second, the geographic impediments (Mountain Ranges and Rivers) it needs to cross are less of an obstacle from Savannah than from LA/Long Beach.  And third, It costs significantly less to unload containers in Savannah than iy does on the west Coast.  Savannah is planning to be the LARGEST INTERMODAL TERMINAL IN THE US BY 2020, which will make it less costly and require less time to ship intermodal containers from a ship docking in Savannah than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere.

Quoting the article:  

John Trent, Senior Director of Strategic Operations and Safety at the Georgia Ports Authority, which owns and operates the Port of Savannah, talked about the new rail service—he said it would be an attractive alternative to shipping by rail from the West Coast to St. Louis. He cited research that revealed the cost to shippers using the new service would be $300 to $400 less for each container moved—and the total time in transit would be comparable. He added that the rail service would be consistent from Savannah, a distinct advantage over more traditional gateways.

“We offer a premium, lower-cost option and, in addition, we provide that consistency,” said Trent. “We believe we have a viable solution to not only support existing business in the St. Louis region, but also to grow business in the St. Louis region.”

Mary Lamie, Executive Director of the St. Louis Regional Freightway, and other St. Louis-area freight industry professionals are excited about the project.

“I cannot overstate the potential of this new partnership and the opportunities it can create to develop stronger links between our region’s world-class freight capabilities and national and global supply chains,” Lamie said.

Say good-bye to transcontinental Intermodal train service.  The only problems Savannah will have is the capacity of the railroads that serve the port.  And don't think that Mobile, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Miami, Port Arthur and Charleston (SC) aren't waiting and watching for a chance to step in, when the rail traffic from Savannah slows their ability to unload containers to St. Louis.

Now let's see which Marketing Hub Savannah targets next....