Georgia Governor Signs Off on Inland Intermodal Port

Cordele Intermodal Services (CIS) has entered into a deal with the State of Georgia to ensure a 200-mile rail link between the Port of Cordele and the Garden City Terminal that is operated by the Georgia Port Authority (GPA). Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed off on the agreement early in July, and was upbeat about the prospects for local growth that would result from the plan. At the signing, he defined the benefits of the deal, saying, “By more efficiently connecting businesses in this region to the global marketplace through our deep-water ports, the Cordele Inland Port is now part of that broader effort, supporting jobs and future development”. The new partnership provides 38 weekly shipping services that will connect Cordele with the world market. This is expected to significantly expand the exposure that Georgia businesses can expect, with the increased freight efficiency that will result from the development of the rail link. The CIS facility is located conveniently close to several main arteries including Interstate Highway 75, as well as Georgia Highways 280 and 300 which makes it an excellent location for the creation of a rail-to-road terminus that could potentially give the Southern states greater access to the port facilities in Savannah, which has been a major port on the Eastern Seaboard for two hundred years. The plan is also aimed at reducing the road miles that intermodal freight is currently traveling by enabling shorter truck journeys to and from the intermodal terminal at Cordele rather than having to make the round trip to Savannah and back, often without a return load. This should not only increase the fuel efficiency of moving freight through the region, but should also boost the profitability of those transport companies by reducing their overall operational costs. The short haul trips and short turnaround times will also keep the trucks loaded and earning revenue more effectively, contributing to further profitability in the trucking sector in the region. It is also hoped that the large shippers in the region, in Albion and Tifton in Georgia, Tallahassee in Florida, and Mobile and Montgomery in Alabama, will see the benefit in using the new development. In view of this potential expansion, the present 40-acre facility operated by CIS has taken the option of expanding to as much as 1,200 acres of the Crisp County Industrial Park where it is located. These expansions would include the development of more cargo handling facilities, as well as storage space for containers in transit.