Gov. Kemp in Panama With Georgia Port Leaders to Observe Canal Operations

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is in Panama this week on a mission centered around the Central American nation’s storied canal, whose health and growth in recent decades has been linked with Savannah’s rise as the fastest-growing and second-largest port on the U.S. East Coast. 

Heavy-laden container ships from East Asia — notably China, but also emerging manufacturing hubs like Vietnam —often traverse the canal on the way to Georgia and other ports, a routing that has made it possible for the state to siphon traffic away from the West Coast, particularly during the pandemic and after work stoppages at leading California ports.

Savannah is also less land-constrained than some other U.S. ports, giving it more room to accept more containers, while also offering the ship-to-rail capabilities that are being expanded with new inland ports and rail routes. The port also sees 14,000 truck movements per day. 

Brunswick, meanwhile, in 2024 became the top port in the nation for roll-on, roll-off cargo like cars and tractors, handling 901,000 units last year. It’s now in the midst of a $100 million project to add a fourth berth. 

Officials from the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Georgia Ports Authority, including president and CEO Griff Lynch, are accompanying the governor.

The deepening of the Savannah harbor a decade ago was tied largely to the expansion of the canal on its 100th anniversary in 2014; the opening of new locks ushered in so-called “post-Panamax” ships that could carry more than three times the volume of their predecessors. The increased size and weight of the ships brought deeper drafts.

Savannah is now looking at another deepening, along with plans to widen the channel en route to the Garden City container terminal to enable two-way traffic. The Georgia Department of Transportation, meanwhile, is raising the height of the Talmadge Memorial Bridge to accommodate taller ships. 

Mr. Kemp’s trip comes just over a month after the governor was in Japan on his latest overseas excursion, where he told Global Atlanta that the state should pay closer attention to Latin America as an investment and trade partner. 

Georgia operates offices in countries like Colombia, Chile and Mexico, but has yet to set up representation in Panama, a nation of 3 million that is positioning itself as a tech, logistics and fintech hub, given its small population and strategic location. Georgia Tech has a very active alumni association in the country featuring many civil engineers who have ascended to the highest levels of government and canal administration. 

Panama is also setting its sights more intently on Georgia, with ProPanama recently hosting an investment forum with the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce after the agency became the chamber’s latest economic development investor. 

Copa Airlines, a Panamanian carrier with deep reach into Central and South America, has operated nonstop flights to Atlanta since 2021, competing with Delta Air Lines directly. 

A news release from the governor’s office about the trip was sparse on the details of the visit, other than to quote Mr. Kemp as saying he would be focused on “learning more about their operations as we continue to innovate and invest in our infrastructure at home.”

It also comes on the heels of a new report from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business outlining that the port supports 651,000 jobs, directly or indirectly, in the state, with about half of those being in metro Atlanta.

That dependency — despite Atlanta lying four hours inland from the port — has in past years forced Atlanta mayors to work together across the aisle with Republican governors to lobby the federal government for funding support. Former Gov. Nathan Deal, Mr. Kemp’s Republican predecessor, and former Mayor Kasim Reed both traveled to Panama around the opening ceremony of the new canal a decade ago.

The UGA report noted that the ports’ trade traffic, valued at a record $198.7 billion in 2024, generates $10 billion in federal taxes, plus some $3 billion each for state and local.

Georgia’s ports are among the best connected in the U.S., receiving 35 ship calls and 42 double-stacked trains per week, according to the release.

“Connectivity drives business, and the Panama Canal is a vital link in Georgia’s global network,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson. “The strong flow of goods between Panama and our ports fuels investment, supports jobs, and keeps Georgia competitive. When companies combine that connectivity with our skilled workforce and pro-business environment, it’s clear why so many choose to invest and grow in Georgia.”