SAVANNAH — Georgia's seaports are reporting double-digit growth last month in volumes of containerized cargo as well as automobiles and heavy machinery.
The Georgia Ports Authority said in a news release that the Port of Savannah handled more than 355,000 container units in March, an increase of 14 percent over the same month last year. The giant metal boxes are used to ship retail goods from consumer electronics to frozen chickens.
Meanwhile, Savannah and the Port of Brunswick handled nearly 70,200 cars, trucks and tractors last month. That's an increase of 17 percent above March 2017.
Poultry companies like Pilgrim’s Pride, Victory Processing and Mar-Jac are among the top 10 businesses in Hall County, along with tractor manufacturer Kubota.
March closed out the first nine months of the Georgia ports' fiscal year. The ports authority says container trade surpassed 3.08 million units since the fiscal year began July 1 — a record for Savannah.