b'6American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(EXPANDINGcontinued fromimports to Savannah.Georgias Center of Innovation page 4) The Mason Mega Rail project is those cargos move through the SuezexpandingGPAsannualrailcapac-a logistics partnerCanal. We are seeing that benefit anditytoone-millionliftsperyearand Georgias Center for Innovation is a big ally for logistics com- its a trend that is going to continue. supports the transition of cargo from panies operating in the State of Georgia.One import customer that is likelyWestCoastportstoSavannah,by tostayinSavannahisthestartupallowingGPAtobetterserveEast Rugged Road, which imports coolersCoastpopulationcentersandinland By Peter Buxbaum, AJOT manufactured in China. West Coastmarkets. Mason Mega is an 85-acre ports at first made the most sense toon-terminalrailyardthattheGeor-Georgia logistics operators, andThataspectaside,autonomousthem, said Sandy Lake, the logisticsgia Ports Authority has been building those considering a move to the Peachvehicleshelpcargomovebecauseteam director at the Georgia Center ofoverseveralyears,saidLynch.It State, have an ally at the Center of Inno- they can continue to run throughoutInnovation,adivisionofthestateswill facilitate container transportation vation, a division of the states Depart- the night or day and not be hinderedDepartmentofEconomicDevelop- ontheCSXandNorfolkSouthern ment of Economic Development, wherebyhours-of-serviceissues,saidment, but they were having difficultyrailways by more than doubling our logistics is one of six industry verticalsLake.Itsalmostlikeoperatingagetting their coolers to Atlanta. Theyrail capacity. the center focuses on. surface train. were missing targets for getting goodsLynchexpectsMasonMegato ThelogisticsteamisfocusedPublic acceptance is also an issueto customers. allow the Port of Savannah to better on how we can help companies takewhen it comes to the robust growth inSince the company currently dis- serveinlandlocationssuchasNash-advantageofthestatescompleteindustrialreal-estateconstructionandtributesmainlyinthesoutheast,itville,Memphis,andDallas.But infrastructure,includingroad,rail,operation in the Georgia ports districtswas open to testing Savannah for itswerealsolookingtogetintoChi-air, and ocean, said Sandy Lake, theand beyond. That involves, among otherimports. Its a longer water route butcago, he added, aided by the develop-logistics team director.things, smart land use planning, whichits a shorter land bridge, said Lake.ment of additional inland ports. Were The team keeps abreast of devel- coordinateswithresidentialareasinThey did a test run and their expe- definitely going to build a facility in opments in Georgias robust technol- order to keep congestion down, saidriencewassomuchmorereliablenortheast Georgia, he said. Well be ogycommunity,muchofwhichis(PARTNERcontinued on page 9) that they decided to bring all of theirhearing more about that this summer.devotedtodrivingsupply-chainand logistics innovations. It also hosts the annualGeorgiaLogisticsSummit, which took place this year on March 8,Simply World Classand which brings the industry together for education and networking. Weknowthatjustbringing people together creates synergies and sparks innovation, said Lake. The center also produces monthly industry information, in the form of the Logistics Market Snapshot, which compiles data that impacts local logis-tics and supply chain operations.Theteamhasbeeninstrumental in efforts to alleviate the truck driver shortage, a national as well as regional problem, by supporting driver train-ingprogramsacrossthestateat35 technical colleges. Each one of them offerscommercialdrivingcertifica-tion,notedLake,withclassroom and behind-the-wheel training.TheGeorgiaPortsAuthority (GPA)hasinvestedintechnologyin recentyears,includingsystemsthat provide advanced notification of cargo arrivals. We help companies outside thegateslearnhowtheycanoper-ate better by connecting to the ports system,saidLake,andbebetter informed on how cargo is flowing.The port is now conducting a pilot project for trucks to have signal prior-ity for getting in and out of the facil-ity. Thats another way to keep cargo movinganditalsohelpswithlocalJIT Warehousing & Logistics is a proven leaderOver a quarter of a century in the import/export traffic as well, said Lake.in the warehousing and distribution industry. JITindustry, JIT offers world class warehousing, Georgiaiscommittedtodevel- operates throughout the United States movingtrucking, shipside delivery, intermodal services, opinginnovativeinfrastructurethatvarious commodities including steel and metalspecialty hauling, crane services, cross docking, helps keep cargo flowing, Lake noted.products, machinery, wood products, palletizedescort services and so much more. All Company We will be the only state in the nextcargo, and more. owned equipment! few years to have truck-only lanes forJIT is your turn key, Just-In-Time operator.a 42-mile stretch between Macon andOur Savannah, Georgia warehousing facilities just south of Atlanta, she said. Thisconsist of over a million square feet of insideNow breaking ground on another 226,000 sq ft was an effort that had to be orches- storage and an additional 10 acres of outsideNorfolk Southern rail served warehouse, JIT trated, among various state and localstorage. We are located only a half mile from thecomplexes can meet all your logistic needs.agencies, as well as private interests,Georgia Port Authoritys Ocean Terminal and 3.5 in order to be effective.miles from Garden City Terminal.a utoNoMoust rucko PeratioNsThe center is also involved with setting the stage for autonomous truck operations in Georgia. There are sev-eralcompanieslookingatGeorgia because we have autonomous-friendly legislation,saidLake.Theresa company that is now doing an autono-mous run into Georgia and they want to expand.We are working to help866-522-2200them be able to connect to other com-panies involved in autonomous-vehi- 216 East Lathrop Ave.PO Box 861Savannah, GA 31402912-201-0050Fax: [email protected] innovations. Part of the challenge is getting the public acceptance.'