April 2026 container trade at Georgia Ports Authority’s (GPA) Port of Savannah dips nearly 14% from the same month last year. Also, Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. celebrates the groundbreaking of its grain handling facility expansion at the rail-served Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon.
GPA on May 19 reported handling approximately 4.7 million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) at the CSX- and Norfolk Southern (NS)-served Port of Savannah for fiscal year-to-date July 1, 2025-April 30, 2026, down 2.5% or 118,422 TEUs from fiscal year-to-date July 1, 2024-April 30, 2025. For the month of April, it handled 443,650 TEUs, a decrease of nearly 14% or 71,850 TEUs from the same point last year, when GPA said it achieved its busiest April on record. Port officials said April 2025 was a record volume month where customers were front-loading their cargo prior to tariffs.
“Our customers are managing through a softer market with higher operating costs,” GPA President and CEO Griff Lynch said. “GPA remains focused on delivering capacity for the longer term, so when the market changes, we are ready to seamlessly absorb their growth.”
GPA said its ten-year plan forecasts 54% growth with a $5 billion investment plan to add five new container berths in Savannah and a $100 million berth for Rollon/Rolloff cargo at the Port of Brunswick.
The Port of Brunswick in April handled 64,305 units of Roll-on/Roll-off cargo, up 2% or 1,367 units, according to GPA. In that overall number, heavy equipment is said to have accounted for 4,694 units, up 7% or 308 units. For the fiscal year to date, Brunswick has handled 639,574 RoRo units, down 11.8% or 85,213 units.
GPA reported that for the second year in a row, the Port of Brunswick “maintained its position as the nation’s busiest port for automobiles in 2025, handling 779,000 units of autos, plus more than 53,000 units of heavy machinery, representing both import and export movements.”
Meanwhile, GPA’s newest inland port, the Gainesville Inland Port, opened May 4, launching direct rail service between Northeast Georgia and the Port of Savannah. The NS-served inland port is expected to transition 26,000 containers from truck to rail in its first year, reducing highway congestion and emissions tied to a 600-mile roundtrip drive. The $134 million project will ultimately provide capacity for up to 200,000 containers annually, according to GPA.
Separately, GPA earlier this year welcomed Kevin Price as President and Bryan Blalock as President of Gateway Terminals Savannah.
Further Reading:
Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. (CGB) on May 19 held a groundbreaking ceremony for its $47 million expansion at the Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon, one of three ports operated on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan by the Ports of Indiana, the statewide port authority.
OmniTrax is the exclusive rail operator at Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon and in 2024 began providing switching, sorting and other services via the 8.2-mile Mount Vernon Railroad.
“CGB currently processes approximately 50 million bushels of soybeans annually at Mount Vernon, producing soybean oil, meal, and soy hulls that are shipped to livestock producers and food companies around the world,” Ports of Indiana said May 19. Its volume has grown more than 60% over the past decade, driving the need for expanded capacity and improved truck flow.
The facility expansion project is designed to triple grain handling capacity. It will increase storage volume by 4.25 million bushels; boost truck unloading capacity by 200%; and include a conveyor system that transfers grain between multiple sites at the port. Construction is expected to wrap up next year, according to Ports of Indiana. A new unloading system, it added, “will allow entire truckloads to discharge without repositioning, reducing congestion on port roads, shortening turnaround times, and lowering transportation costs for local farmers.”
“We strongly value our relationship with the state of Indiana, Ports of Indiana, and the Mount Vernon community, and this investment centers on serving our farmers and the local community,” said Tom Malecha, Executive Vice President of CGB parent company CGB Enterprises, Inc. “By improving traffic flow and reducing wait times, CGB is making soybean delivery at Mount Vernon more efficient while positioning the facility for the future. This port is an ideal location for growing our business and continuing to expand the value we bring to the agricultural, energy and food sectors.”
“CGB is a world-class company that has been a tremendous partner at our Ohio River ports for nearly three decades,” Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock commented. “This investment demonstrates CGB’s strong commitment to Indiana agriculture, our port, and future growth opportunities that support local farmers. It also highlights the strategic competitive advantages Indiana’s ports create through robust barge and rail connections in the heart of one of the nation’s most productive agricultural regions.”
In other Ports of Indiana news, Joshua Webb earlier this year was appointed Director of Government Affairs.