ATLANTA – The Port of Savannah experienced a strong first quarter of the fiscal year.

But there were signs toward the end of the quarter of a slowdown in demand, the Georgia Ports Authority reported Thursday.

Savannah handled more than 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containerized cargo in July, August, and September, up 9.6 percent over the first quarter of fiscal 2022.

“A high number of ad hoc vessel calls, the addition of three new Mediterranean services, and one new service to Asia contributed to the growth,” said Griff Lynch, the authority’s executive director.

“Additionally, our regular services have been arriving with significantly more cargo destined for Savannah.”

However, container volumes last month were off by 7.6 percent compared to September of last year. A nearly three-day suspension of service related to Hurricane Ian affected September volumes at the Port of Savannah.

GPA Board Chairman Joel Wooten said economic factors also have begun to slow the port’s business.

“We’re expecting a gradual easing in demand based on several factors, including a shift in the balance of consumer spending away from goods back to services and the impact of inflation on the economy,” he said.

“After having increased trade at a compound annual growth rate of 14% over the past two fiscal years, this change will represent a return to a more typical rate of growth for GPA.”

A silver lining in the anticipated easing in demand is that the Port of Savannah expects to clear a backlog of vessels waiting at anchor by the end of next month. Currently, about 204,600 containers are on the water headed for Savannah, down from a record high of 262,500 in July.

This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.