How much rail traffic out of Savannah?

[D300]

This article from the navy times website about a civil war ship holding up dredging in Savannah's port is interesting in that it calls the port the 4th busiest. (Not sure if 4th overall or 4th on the Atlantic.) Savannah is not a port I think much about ever, does it have much rail traffic moving on either NS (or CSX) to be the 4th busiest port? Is the rail traffic heavy enough to be in league with other ports?

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/05/ap-confederate-shipwreck-050512/

D300

[lwjabo]

I would be more than a little supprised that Savannah would be the fourth largest port on the Atlantic. Would New Orleans be considered on the Atlantic down in the Gulf of Mexico. My Guess would be New York, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Charleston and Jacksonville with heavy traffic pattern. I know NS runs and has ran trains from Atlanta to Charleston and Jacksonville for years but had few trains to Savannah. The line from Macon to Savannah has a lot of non signal miles. The CSXT has a north south line that goes through Savannah. I have heard the state trying to increase Savannah's ship traffic has been dredging the port and Savannah River. At first the State of South Carolina supported this but seeing how it would take a bite out of Charleston they now are fighting it. My guess again that New Orleans at or near the mouth of the Mississippi River is the busiest port with out bound shipping in the USA. I doubt Mobile now with the canal to the Tennessee picked up that much shipping. We could also add Houston to the Atlantic ports. It's a huge city and much of the worlds oil goes through it.

[Michael Knight]

The Port of Savannah currently ranks as the country's fourth-busiest container port and is a hub of activity for warehousing and distribution in Georgia. Seventy percent of the U.S. population, or 215 million consumers, are less than five days from Savannah.

Source: Inbound Logitics, http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/georgia-fueling-logistics-competitiveness/

[florida581]

As for rail traffic, the NS line dead ends at Savannah, so every one of their trains either originates or terminates there (around 10 a day).  This includes intermodals 207, 208, 231, and 232.  Manifest trains are 155, 156, 372, 373, 377, and 378.  There's also occasional coal trains for export.

As for the CSX, they have multiple lines in and out of Savannah.  Intermodal trains Q101, Q102 (both 1x week), Q125, Q126, Q197, and Q198 orginate/terminate there.  Other intermodals either pick up/set out there or just pass through.  Those include Q031, Q032, Q033, Q034, Q036, Q037, Q038, Q103, Q104, and Q176.
A couple of CSX manifests orginate/terminate there: Q690 and Q691.  Other manifests either pick up/set out there or just pass through.  Those are Q409, Q410, Q491, Q492, Q692, and Q693.  And of course there's the juice trains Q740 and Q741.  

I'm pretty sure all these trains are not all exclusive Port of Savannah related business, however a good chunk is.  

[Backyard]

  According to Inbound Logistics magazine, the Southeastern US-America held the greatest population growth for the last decade at 9.7%, with the rest of the nation at just over 7%. In the not too distant future, half the US-American population will be living in the Southeast.

Caterpillar announced a $200M, 1400-employee manufacturing plant at Athens, GA, three hours by truck from Savannah to advantage inbound raw materials and outbound product. The Athens plant and another in Texas will serve markets in the US & Europe.

The Panama Canal project has great potential for inbound & outbound container traffic for the Gulf ports as well as all along the Atlantic Coast. This adds another dimension to the Southeast. Ports are putting a fresh coat of paint on facilities, dredging harbors and freshening their sails for a trade wind that will bring New Panamax ships to their berths.

In February 2012, the Georgia Ports Authority reported loaded container volumes were 55% in favor of exports. In prior years, container volumes were 60% imports. This shift has implications up and down the supply chain.

[lwjabo]

No doubt about it Georgia has grown a lot in the last few years. Now I'm no kid. I will be 67 here in a few months. Metro Atlanta hit a million back in 1961 and now it's well over five million. The Metro area not the city as it still around half a million. When I went to school Georgia ranked 22 or 20 in population. Today it 8 or 9. North Carolina is now number 10 in population and Florida is now larger than both of them. Florida was a very small populated state till some years after WWII. Georgia is the largest state in size east of the Mississippi and Florida is number 2. Will add While metro Atlanta has over 5 million people the entire state as I understand it is somewhere over 7 million. So most of the growth is around Atlanta not the rest of the state. The city's and counties around Atlanta are having problems now getting water for all these folks and Florida and Alabama keep Georgia in court over the drainage of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers. They want more of the water and the courts are ruling in there favor over Georgia. There is more growth between Atlanta and well north of Charlotte NC following Interstate 85. It's becoming one of the largest population centers in the US. There is growth along interstate 75 but much of the rest of Georgia is almost flat growth. Atlanta is so congested it is normal the city with the longest commute in the US. The state will not do more than talk about rapid rail. They give money to a committee and a few years later they add some more to it but not one scoop of dirt is moved nor is one crosstie been laid. There was talk of a train to Athens and one to Savannah but all that has turned out to be is talk. Atlanta rapid transit system is limited to two counties. Fulton and DeKalb and that looks like all that going to happen any time soon. My prediction is Atlanta Metro will finally choke on it's on traffic mess and people will start moving some place else. The population growth in Georgia is in one spot unlike Florida and North Carolina. Amtrak as we know is limited to The Crescent with two trains a day. One to Birmingham and one to Greenville. I might add that KIA is building a plant just south of Newnan on I85. With that we should also add Hapeville lost the Ford Plant and Doraville lost GM in the last 6 years.

[florida581]

Here's a few more Port of Savannah figures.

Busiest container ports in 2010. US rank/ World rank/ and twenty-foot equivalent units(TEU's).

1/ 17/ 6,500,000  Los Angeles, CA
2/ 18/ 6,260,000  Long Beach, CA
3/ 20/ 5,290,000  New York/New Jersey
4/ 41/ 2,830,000  Savannah, GA

Busiest of select US ports in 2009 by total tonnage.

1.  South Louisiana, LA  212,580,811
2.  Houston, TX  211,340,972
3.  New York/New Jersey  144,689,593
4.  Long Beach, CA  72,500,211

21.  Savannah, GA  32,338,995

[NSMoWandS]

Once the new panamal canal opens...and the NEW panamax ships start sailing... there are going to be 3 ports on the east to handle them... Norfolk, VA- already has 55ft draft and  50 ft air draft(clearance). New York, NY/NJ- has the 55ft draft, but there is a clearance issue... however, with NYC population... it should be resolved. Savannah, GA.- Already started on the 55ft draft... and has 50 ft air draft. Batlimore, MD- prob not... it is an extra day sail up the bay from Norfolk, VA. Philadelphia, PA- prob not-only 45-50ft draft and has clearance issuses. Charleston, SC- Prob will be an overflow for Norfolk and Savannah. From a STB report dated 2010.