Spring Cargo Surge Lifts Port of Savannah to Second Busiest Year on Record

Georgia's Port of Savannah moved 5.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the 2025 fiscal year that ended on June 30, marking its second busiest year on record.

According to a July 29 release, the Port of Savannah saw an 8.6% year-over-year increase in TEUs; the only fiscal year the port experienced higher volumes was 2022, when a pandemic-driven cargo surge saw it handle 5.76 million TEUs. The port's growth in 2025 was primarily fueled by a bump in cargo volumes that started in January, as businesses sought to bring inventory in ahead of promised tariffs from the incoming Trump administration. 

After double-digit increases in each of the spring months, the Port of Savannah saw a nearly 10% year-over-year dip in total TEUs in June, when retailers started canceling shipments in response to the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China. West Coast shipping hubs reported similar dips in June, spanning ports in Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma. Moving forward, port leaders expect cargo volumes to continue to fluctuate in response to the Trump administration's difficult-to-predict tariff policies.

Read More: 'Uncertainty Reigns' at U.S. Ports as Retailers Navigate Tariff Turmoil

"It’s just going to be this very up-and-down time until things get settled," Georgia Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch said in a statement to the Associated Press.

The National Retail Federation projects double-digit declines in import volumes at U.S. ports in each month between August and November, with many businesses having already front-loaded enough inventory in the spring to get them through the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons.