Increase in Georgia ports activity encouraging indicator for strengthening economy

Boost in Ga. ports activity encouraging

ATLANTA — Increased traffic at Georgia’s ports is being seen as a sign that the economy is picking up.

Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, told his board this week that 2010 is on track to be a record year.

“The growth experienced in the second half of this fiscal year continues to signal improved economic recovery, retail inventory re-stocking and ongoing strength in U.S. products overseas with significant export increases,” Foltz told his board this week, the Savannah Morning News reported.

Foltz said May was the ports’ sixth-busiest month ever.

“I don’t want to claim the recession is over throughout the U.S. But it’s pretty remarkable that we’ve fully recovered the loss of volume at our ports,” Foltz said.

“It’s clear just how strong an economic engine our ports have become and how that engine is helping to fuel our economic recovery,” said Stephen S. Green, chairman of the Ports Authority board. “The Ports Authority’s focus on the future even during the economic recession is starting to pay dividends today,” he said.

Randy Stuart, an assistant professor of marketing at Kennesaw State University, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that this year’s Christmas will be better for business than last year’s, especially if traffic is up at the ports.

The University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth said in an April report that the ports of Savannah and Brunswick account for about 129,000 jobs statewide.

Willie Seymore, president of the stevedores union in Savannah, said hiring at the port has doubled.

“Last year at this time we were gasping for air. We’re breaking all records this year,” he said.

Norfolk Southern, which has 1,778 miles of track and four major train-truck terminals in Georgia, said it has registered double-digit traffic growth this year through Savannah.