SAVANNAH — Trade through Georgia’s shipping ports continues to set records, but that could change as early as next month as President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and other business headwinds exact a toll.
Marine terminals in Savannah recorded their best February on record last month and March looks similarly strong, Georgia Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch told his board of directors Tuesday morning.
But he acknowledged traffic could “moderate” starting in April amid expanded tariffs imposed by Trump on China and the president’s threat to increase levies April 5 against several other global trading partners in what the administration has labeled “liberation day in America.”
Georgia imports more from China than from any other country, although the share of Chinese goods coming through the Savannah port terminals has shrunk significantly since 2018, from 49% to 38%.
Kent Fountain, the Ports Authority chairman, noted uncertainty around the tariffs — both the amount, the date they go into effect and the trading partners involved — makes forecasting cargo business difficult. He is a ports customer himself, exporting cotton and peanuts that his company processes in Surrency, a rural farming area 75 miles inland from the Georgia coast.
“There is some posturing going on but remember, we still have to have goods,” Fountain said.
Trump-imposed tariffs during the president’s first term in the late 2010s did not stymie growth at Georgia’s ports. Cargo business in Savannah grew by 41% between 2017 and 2020.
Fees imposed on goods this time could be much more punitive. Trump doubled tariffs against China from 10% to 20% in early March and also imposed 25% penalties on imports of aluminum, steel and derivative products from around the world.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
The “liberation day” tariffs promised in April are expected to hit more broadly, with India, the European Union and South Korea — three of Georgia Ports’ top five trading partners — bracing for increased levies. Some manufacturers in those countries, such as South Korea’s Hyundai, have announced plans for U.S. production facilities to make goods and materials that would not be subject to tariffs.
Hyundai operates two automobile assembly facilities in Georgia and on Monday unveiled a steel mill project to be built in Louisiana. The mill, which was in the works before Trump won election last November, is part of Hyundai’s move to build a U.S.-centric supply chain for its vehicles. The automaker is also constructing electric vehicle battery plants in Bartow County and adjacent to its massive, newly opened EV factory near Savannah.
Tariffs aren’t the only risk that leads the Georgia Ports’ Lynch to predict a slowing in cargo traffic.
He noted the “incredible run” the Savannah and Brunswick terminals have enjoyed since late 2023 and that “it can’t last forever.” The ports have reported year-over-year growth for 14 consecutive months, even with a four-day labor strike last October, a rare winter storm that shuttered the ports facilities for several days in January and “about 140 hours of fog” that have delayed loading and unloading at various times in 2025.
“We’re still digging out,” Lynch said.
The Port of Savannah and other ports authority facilities support 609,000 jobs and contribute $171 billion in sales activity annually in the state, a 2024 study showed.
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