the interstate and they’ve increased their outboard rails.” Such efforts, he says, increase the GPA’s ability to handle more TEUs. INCREASING TURNS All of these investments are especially good news for JIT, which Goldberg founded more than three decades ago with the idea that companies in the Southeast—particularly those that receive seaborne products via the Port of Savannah—require world-class logistical support. “Since JIT is embedded close to the Ports Authority, the Ocean Terminal and the Garden City Terminal, it allows us to do more turns and to be more effective in our handling of containers and business,” Goldberg says. He is proud of the company’s longtime record as a Georgia logistics leader and its status as a business imbued with family values. Goldberg now serves Savannah-based JIT Warehousing & Logistics deploys Wally the robot in its new 230,000-square-foot rail-served space.
The Inland Port, now named the Blue Ridge Connector (BRC), will provide a direct link to the Port of Savannah via Norfolk Southern Railroad. Such initiatives help explain the reasons behind Georgia’s premier position in logistics. “It’s important to highlight Georgia’s role in the fabric of the nation’s logistics industry as a whole,” Greg Syfan says. “Our state plays a crucial role in the betterment of the industry, and we have always been on the cutting edge of developing new practices and industry standards.” SPURRING PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENTS From an already enviable position in logistics, Ben Goldberg, president of Savannah-based JIT Warehousing & Logistics, says things are looking up for both his company and the state of Georgia. A major factor in his enthusiasm is the continuing logistics progress spurred by the GPA. “The Georgia Ports Authority continues to invest, enabling it to do additional business,” Goldberg
in an active advisor capacity for the company to help his daughters, Evie Goldberg-Davis and Anna Lockwood, as well as Anna’s husband, Trevor Lockwood, run daily operations. Mirroring progress at the ports, 2025 promises to be “another good year” for JIT. “It looks like we will continue to grow,” Goldberg says. “One way that JIT distinguishes itself from others is that we have the capability of handling any type of cargo except hazardous,” he says. “We’re an asset- based company. We invested heavily in the heavy-haul division in the past three years, buying new heavy-haul trucks and trailers. We expanded our heavy- haul yard. It’s now at about 5 acres and continuing to expand.” The company also has invested inside its walls. An additional 230,000 square feet of space, served by Norfolk Southern, is equipped with a robot, nicknamed “Wally,” which has been added to JIT’s maintenance crew. Wally helps to keep the oors “spit-shine” clean, Goldberg says. MAXIMIZING POTENTIAL
says. “The smaller private terminals have built up to handle more volumes too. They’re in the process of putting in another private terminal here.” Good planning and efforts to increase business from other countries helped the GPA weather the storms of the pandemic, and new investments in the ports’ capabilities are helping the ports maintain their upward swing. “The GPA spread their sources, and they got freight from other countries to get more volumes,” Goldberg explains. “The GPA has continued to build their infrastructure, which increases volume. They’re currently working on Ocean Terminal. They’re putting in a new bypass from Ocean Terminal to
Having opportunities is one thing. Seizing those opportunities is quite another. Ask Hal Justice, vice president, sales and operations, at Atlanta Bonded Warehouse (ABW), about the logistics advantages of Georgia and he will recite not only the state’s natural assets but also the many ways in which the state has leveraged and enhanced those assets over the years. In addition, he will point out how ABW, the Southeast’s leading provider of temperature-controlled 3PL warehousing, co-packaging, and LTL/TL transportation services, has followed suit. The state’s principal advantage is its real estate trifecta: location, location, location—or, as Justice puts
38 Inbound Logistics • March 2025
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