PORT UPDATE: SHORING UP SUPPLY CHAINS
As shippers work to come to terms with that equation, they partner with port directors, political of cials, commercial real estate developers, and other business leaders in joint efforts to ensure the strength of ports in job creation, supply chain ef ciencies, and community growth is not only safeguarded but enhanced. CENTERPOINT: BUILDING STRATEGIES AND RELATIONSHIPS “A key challenge facing U.S. ports today is navigating evolving government regulations and tariffs, and assessing how those policies will in uence both cargo throughput and the overall composition of goods moving through major ports,” says Ronel Borner, senior vice president, East Region, CenterPoint Properties. CenterPoint acquires, develops, and manages state-of-the-art industrial facilities near major transportation nodes, ports, and population centers in America’s top industrial markets. “There is also real uncertainty around how shipping lines will respond—not only by shifting cargo from different origins, but by determining the most ef cient way to move goods through U.S. ports and into U.S. distribution channels,” Borner adds. As a driving force in economic development in key locations across the country, CenterPoint must have strong relationships with the ports in the communities it serves. “Our role as a real estate owner, investor, and developer is to stay close to our customers, listen to what they need, and make sure we are building, operating, and owning the facilities that customers and logistics companies want to have near the ports,” Borner says. Fostering strong relationships with ports positions the company to help its customers execute the strategies they need to respond to government policies and regulations that shape the community. Historically, the rm has focused a signi cant portion of its investment dollars on port-centric assets,
CenterPoint acquires, develops, and manages state-of-the-art industrial facilities near ports, major transportation nodes, and population centers in top markets. One example is this Garden City, Georgia, facility serving the Savannah market.
recognizing the nexus between port activity and the demand for logistics real estate. At the same time, CenterPoint’s platform has evolved to include major population and distribution hubs, expanding to major population centers that also drive the need for logistics real estate in cities like Atlanta and Chicago. In the Chicago metropolitan community, for example, CenterPoint built a master-planned intermodal freight terminal, the 6,400-acre CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Joliet and Elwood, Illinois, constituting the largest inland port in North America. SUPPORTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT The combination of port proximity, inland infrastructure, and access to major consumption centers enables CenterPoint to support both port-driven supply chains and broader regional development. “One of the clearest trends we’re seeing in port- related logistics is a much greater focus on ef ciency within existing footprints,” Borner says. “Our customers are spending a lot of time looking at the space they already have and asking how they can make it work harder for them.” CenterPoint partners closely with customers as they work through operational optimization. “With more than 60 million square feet nationally,
we’re focused on offering logistics companies a portfolio of distribution and warehouse assets in the country’s most competitive in ll industrial submarkets, near dense population centers and key local and regional transportation hubs,” Borner says. He cites Savannah as a good example of how CenterPoint has been able to invest around key port infrastructure. Over the past several years, CenterPoint has executed a multi-building park strategy less than three miles from the Port of Savannah, giving customers direct access to one of the country’s most important logistics gateways. The park started with the construction of a build-to-suit facility for Maersk, then a facility for Port City Logistics, and most recently a long-term build-to-suit lease with Gulfstream Aerospace for a new 400,000-square-foot facility. GEORGIA PORTS AUTHORITY: DRIVING INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS Moving forward, an issue for all ports will be developing capacity to keep pace with demand while also contributing to state and regional economies. To address this challenge, over the next 10 years the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) plans to build ve big-ship container berths in Savannah and one berth for
38 Inbound Logistics • August 2026
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