SAVANNAH, Ga. – CSX Transportation and the Georgia Ports Authority have teamed up for daily international intermodal service between the Port of Savannah and Rocky Mount, N.C.
The railroad and port authority said that the service would enable North Carolina importers and exporters to tap into a faster supply chain through the direct rail connection between the port and CSX’s Carolina Connector intermodal terminal.
“This is an exciting logistics solution for existing and new customers across North Carolina,” Georgia Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch said in a statement today. “In collaboration with CSX, we’re offering daily access and faster service, bringing world-class port services to the doorstep of the area’s business and industry.”
The container traffic will move in existing trains that handle both intermodal and manifest business, CSX says. The rail move is 382 miles from the port authority’s Mason Mega Rail Terminal in Savannah and the CCX terminal at Rocky Mount.
The transit time from ship to shore to Rocky Mount will be three days.
“CSX is proud to be a part of this transformative partnership, which embodies our commitment to foster growth, connect markets and propel economic progress for the region,” Kevin Boone, the railroad’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, said in a statement. “The integration of GPA’s On-Dock Rail and the Inland Port at CCX signifies a leap forward in providing efficient, sustainable, and dynamic rail-to-truck inland port container service for our customers.”
Savannah has been among the fastest-growing ports in the U.S. and has benefitted from the shift of imports to the East Coast from West Coast ports.
“Customers can get access to cargo more quickly on the Carolina Connector service, because Savannah is a first port of call for ocean carriers transiting the Panama Canal,” Lynch said. “Containers are ready for pick-up at CCX before they can even be unloaded from a vessel at other ports further up the coast.”
On-dock rail service expedites container handling. The Mason Mega Rail terminal features 85 acres and 24 miles of on-terminal track, making it the largest intermodal facility on a port in the Americas.
Major North Carolina exports include agricultural goods such as cotton and forest products. For farms in Western North Carolina, CCX offers a shorter drive than routes to mid-Atlantic ports, which the port authority said reduces trucking costs, emissions, and highway traffic congestion.
“The region’s import-export cargo mix adds to the efficiency of the service, because containers can be loaded with goods going both directions,” said Maryclare Kenney, CSX vice president of intermodal and auto, said in a statement. “Major importers include furniture sellers and big box retailers.”
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