The Port of Savannah handled 504,015 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in September, a single-month record for the facility and a 3.7% gain over September 2025, the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) reported today.

Typhoon-related delays at Asian loading ports pushed peak-season volumes into the back half of September, GPA said. Carriers responded to Savannah's fluid terminal operations and proximity to major Southeast retail distribution centers by directing more import boxes through the Garden City terminal.

Imports drove the headline. Loaded import volumes rose 5.5% year over year, outpacing total throughput growth.

How does the quarter stack up against GPA's history?

September lifted the authority's fiscal first quarter past 1.5 million TEUs, up 40,560 TEUs or 2.7% versus the prior-year period. GPA said the quarter ranks second in its history, behind only fiscal year 2023 Q1. That earlier quarter benefited from the post-pandemic restocking wave that pulled unusually large container orders through USEC gateways.

What changed on the Panama Canal?

Easing drought conditions on the isthmus also supported the September numbers, GPA noted, by shortening transit times for Asia-USEC services. The Panama Canal Authority has reported improving water levels at Lake Gatun as Central America's rainy season took hold.

The authority will lift the daily Neopanamax transit cap back to the maximum 10 vessels per day on October 15, restoring total daily transits across all vessel sizes to 33.

Draft restrictions have also loosened. As of September 28, the maximum allowed draft for Neopanamax vessels stood at 49 feet, up from the 48-foot ceiling imposed on August 26.

What does this mean for shippers, carriers, and forwarders?

For shippers and 3PLs, the combination of a fluid Garden City terminal and restored canal capacity removes a constraint that had slowed Asia-USEC flows earlier in the year. Imports can reach distribution nodes in Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee with fewer routing detours and less reliance on west coast transloads.

For liner operators, the October 15 restoration of the 10-Neopanamax transit cap supports deployment of larger tonnage on services that had been constrained by canal capacity. The draft increase to 49 feet reduces light-loading requirements that had forced operators to leave slots on vessels.

The timing matters for forwarders managing contract negotiations. The Q4 lift in effective capacity on the Asia-USEC lane arrives as carriers prepare 2026 service contracts, and a fully open canal gives shipping lines more leverage in those talks than they held during the 2024 drought period.

What's next for the corridor?

The Panama Canal's draft and transit capacity should continue normalizing through Q4 as Gatun lake levels rise. For Savannah, the September print raises the question of whether October can match it.

Peak-season volumes typically taper after Labor Day, but with canal capacity at full and consumer demand holding, GPA enters the holiday stretch with its strongest quarterly position since fiscal 2023 Q1.