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Savannah goods exports to Asia nearly tripled in the last five years to almost $2 billion, making that region the metro area’s most valuable export market, according to new data from the U.S. Commerce Department.
Exports to Asia were nearly five times higher than to Nafta countries, bucking the statewide trend. Canada and Mexico are the No. 1 and No. 3 export markets for Georgia with China sneaking in at No. 2. But with Savannah, even European Union countries ($1.5 billion in exports) outpaced Nafta countries ($415 million) by a factor of more than three.
That might have something to do with shipping routes serving the Garden City container terminal at the Savannah port. Most lines run between Asia or Europe and the U.S. East Coast. See the full map here
The metro data pulled together by the Commerce Department does its best to track goods from where they are produced, but consolidation points like warehouses near ports can skew the data. Since the data only pick up where the exported goods begin their journey to ports of exit, goods from all over the Southeast consolidated in places like Savannah will be considered exports from that metro area.
With shipping routes hitting mostly Asia and Europe, Savannah is a logical jumping off point for goods headed to those markets. According to the Georgia Ports Authority, some 3 million square feet of warehouse space is available within 30 miles of the port.
Here are Savannah’s top five export markets by region or political organization: Asia ($1.95 billion), EU ($1.5 billion), Nafta ($415 million), Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ($393 million) and South America ($321 million).
In July, the Savannah port handled a monthly record of 293,889 twenty-foot equivalent container units, or TEUs. In 2013, the port exported more than 1.2 million TEUs, with food, wood pulp, paperboard, clay and fabrics among the top products.
The coastal Georgia city was the No. 52 metro area in the country for exports, just missing the top 50 list, for which the Commerce Department provided detailed data about export commodities and countries.
