80,000 Containers are Stacked Up at the Port of Savannah

The Port of Savannah is overwhelmed with shipping containers as the supply chain crisis continues. 80,000 containers, 50% more than normal, are stacked up on the docks. Some ships waited for nine days before getting a slot. About 700 containers have been left there for a month or more, while in September, 4,500 containers sat in the port for weeks, waiting to be collected by the trucks or boats that take them to their next destination.

The traffic jam in Savannah shows no signs of easing up, Griff Lynch, who oversees the port and is executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, said. He recently had more than 20 ships in a queue. “The supply chain is overwhelmed and inundated … It’s not sustainable at this point,”. The fact that 4,500 containers sat for weeks in September was “bordering on ridiculous,” he said.  The immediate concern for the industry is dealing with supply chain issues ahead of the busy holiday shopping season. But experts say these issues are set to continue well into 2022 and beyond.