Getting boxes off the roads

Under this new partnership, KMMG will move car parts via rail from the Port of Savannah to the inland terminal in Cordele and then to its manufacturing plant at West Point via motor carrier.

“Cargo can be loaded onto trains, moving hundreds of containers in a single trip, staged at an intermodal yard, then trucked for much shorter distances,” said GPA executive director, Griff Lynch.

“This model drives out waste and redundancy in the supply chain, delivering greater efficiency for customers and environmental benefits through reduced diesel consumption.”

In addition to the environmental benefits, there are of course direct cost savings to the importer. Storage and handling fees should be reduced by utilising Cordele as the origin and destination location for the containers.

Previously, the car manufacturer would have trucked containers from Savannah to West Point. This agreement allows trucks carrying Kia parts to make much shorter hauls between Cordele and West Point.

Cordele Inland Terminal, served by short line rail providers, currently operates on 40 acres with an option to expand on additional available land nearby. Service areas include southwest Georgia, southern Alabama and western Florida.

It was recently designated as an official container yard by shipping lines Maersk, NYK, CMA-CGM, MSC and ZIM.

On 22 July, the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) Board of Directors, in conjunction with the state of Georgia, approved US$19.7 million to fund the state’s second inland terminal – the Appalachian Regional Port in Murray County.