Inbound Logistics | July 2023

L ockdowns. Border closings. Geopolitical tensions. Shifting trade routes. Over-supplies. Under-supplies. While the pandemic may have constituted its initial wave, the tsunami of supply chain issues aficting logistics over the past few years did not cease, even after the economic waters returned to relative calm. Despite all challenges, however, U.S. ports from sea to shining sea have continued to pivot and improve. Together, the ports are emblematic of international logistics leadership in the post-pandemic era. “America’s ports play a central role in our supply chains,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg early in 2023 as he announced $662 million in available FY2023 funding for the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) under the auspices of the Maritime Administration. The PIDP program supports efforts by ports and other industry stakeholders to improve port and related freight infrastructure to meet the country’s freight transportation needs and ensure that port infrastructure can handle an anticipated growth in freight volumes. In 2022, the Department of Transportation awarded more than $703 million to fund 41 port projects in 22 states and one territory. “So many of the goods we all count on—from appliances to furniture to clothes—move through our nation’s ports on their way to us,” Buttigieg said. Well before the availability of the 2023 funding was announced, U.S. ports began initiating an impressive array of infrastructure and other improvements designed to answer demand, unclog supply chains, and facilitate the free ow of goods for shippers. A few examples of new and continuing projects include forward-thinking efforts ranging from massive expansions in capacity to new big-ship callings to data- sharing agreements enhancing supply chain performance among and across regional ports. Let’s check in on some of these efforts, with a little port-hopping.

Georgia Ports Authority Growing Bigger Together The enthusiasm and pride of port ofcials at the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) is evident in GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch’s remarks as he tours the new Savannah Transload Facility, a 300,000-square-foot warehouse one mile from the Garden City Terminal, just weeks prior to its scheduled opening in July 2023. NFI Industries, a third-party logistics partner offering transportation, distribution, global logistics, and real estate solutions, will operate the facility. The project is a case study in collaboration. “If we’re going to grow big successfully, the entire supply chain needs to be ramped up together,” Lynch says, adding that NFI will handle more than 400 containers each day and as many as 150,000 containers each year through the new facility alone. “But it doesn’t stop there,” Lynch notes. “The Savannah area is adding more than 21 million square feet of building to date, and there’s another 30 million square feet on the drawing board. We’re going to have more than 150 million square feet in the next two years, just in the local market.” The Savannah investment means that capacity challenges are nally being put

in the rear-view mirror, thus increasing speed to market, Lynch says. Cargo moving through the Savannah Transload Facility will start its inland trek to stores and distribution centers faster, saving time—and money—for GPA shippers and partners. In additional port enhancements, GPA is renovating Berth 1 at its Garden City Terminal. When those improvements are nished, the port will be able to simultaneously serve seven vessels, including four 16,000-TEU ships. The improved berth will add 1.5 million 20-foot equivalent container ships of annual berth capacity. The GPA also is transitioning its 200- acre Ocean Terminal in Savannah. Having handled a mix of containers and breakbulk cargo for 40 years, Ocean Terminal will become an all- container facility. Rebuilding the docks will provide 2,800 feet of berth space, capable of simultaneously serving two big ships. The rst berth is set to be completed in 2025 and the second in 2026. JAXPORT Europe Calling Down the Atlantic coast in Florida, there is no less enthusiasm as the rst ship in MSC Mediterranean Shipping

The Georgia Ports Authority plans to renovate the docks at Ocean Terminal in Savannah to provide two additional big ship berths, and transform the 200-acre facility to a container-only operation by 2026.

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