Cargo surge amid tariff turmoil drives the Port of Savannah to its 2nd busiest year
The Savannah port moved 5.7 million container units of imports and exports across its docks in the 2025 fiscal year that ended June 30, the Georgia Ports Authority reported. That's an increase of 8.6% over the prior fiscal year and just shy of the record 5.76 million container units Savannah handled in fiscal 2022.
The growth was caused in part by a surge in cargo since President Donald Trump returned to office in January promising heavy tariffs on China and other U.S. trading partners. But double-digit increases Savannah saw during the spring months were followed by a sizable drop in June container volumes as Trump's on-again, off-again tactics continued to fuel uncertainty .
'It's just going to be this very up-and-down time until things get settled,' said Georgia Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch, who praised Trump's trade deal with the European Union as a step toward restoring stability. 'I'm sure all of it will come together. It's just a matter of timing.'
The Port of Savannah is the nation's No. 4 seaport for cargo shipped in containers, giant metal boxes used to transport goods ranging from consumer electronics to frozen chickens by ship, rail and truck.
Uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariff policies has resulted in gains, at least in the short term, at other major U.S. ports. A 90-day pause the Republican president placed on new tariffs announced in April gave American retailers and manufacturers a window to build up inventories ahead of new price hikes.
What happens to trade volumes in the coming months may depend on a big deadline Friday, when dozens of countries face increased tariffs on goods shipped to the U.S. if they don't reach a deal with the White House.
The Port of Los Angeles, the top U.S. container port, reported its busiest June ever to close out fiscal 2025 with 10.5 million container units handled — a 14% increase over the previous year.
At the Port of New York and New Jersey, the biggest East Coast port, container volumes from January through May were up 6.5% compared to the same period last year.
Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, told reporters earlier this month that Trump's tactics have created a 'whipsaw effect' as shipping volumes slow down with new tariff announcements, then surge suddenly to take advantage of delayed tariff start dates.
The National Retail Federation is forecasting that cargo containers shipped through U.S. ports will drop by double digits from August through November.
At the Port of Savannah, container volume jumped 22.5% in March to 533,995 units and remained above 500,000 container units through May. The streak ended in June, when container volumes fell 9.6% compared to a year earlier.
Lynch said paused shipments of automobiles to Georgia prompted by tariffs on foreign cars contributed to a 16% drop in autos moving through the nearby Port of Brunswick in fiscal 2025. Last year, Brunswick was the top U.S. port for automobiles after passing the Port of Baltimore, which was shut down for weeks after the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge .
Cargo volumes appeared flat in July said Lynch, who anticipates another decline in August. But he said he's optimistic the turbulence won't be prolonged.
'If they can nail these tariffs down, we'll get back to normal trade,' Lynch said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump, Carney to speak soon, Canadian official says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will likely talk "over the next number of days" after the U.S. imposed a 35% tariff on goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, a Canadian official said on Sunday. Dominic LeBlanc, the federal cabinet minister in charge of U.S.-Canada trade, told CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he believes there is an option of striking a deal that will bring down tariffs. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The S&P 500 Has Reached an All-Time High: Should You Invest Now or Wait for a Correction?
Key Points Market indexes have been reaching new heights, and right now is an incredibly expensive time to buy. Some investors are worried a correction or recession may be looming, making it smarter to wait. However, history suggests that there's never necessarily a bad time to invest. 10 stocks we like better than S&P 500 Index › The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has been breaking records over the last few weeks, officially reaching a new all-time high in July. As of this writing on Aug. 1, it's up by about 25% from its low point in April. However, not everyone is optimistic about the market right now. In fact, one-third of U.S. investors say they are feeling "bearish" about where stocks will be in the next six months, according to the most recent weekly survey from the American Association of Individual Investors. With stock prices near record-breaking highs, some investors may be tempted to wait until the next downturn to buy at a discount. Here's what history says about whether you should buy now or hold off. Is it safe to invest now? Nobody can predict where stocks will be a few months or a year from now, and new policies out of Washington could change things on a dime. However, several scenarios are possible. For one, stock prices could continue soaring like they have over the past few months. If that happens, right now would be a fantastic time to buy to see immediate gains. Scenario two is that the market takes a sharp turn for the worse, like it did earlier this year amid tariff uncertainty. Between February and April, the S&P 500 fell by close to 20%, leaving many investors panicked and eager to sell. But those who stayed the course and held their investments reaped the rewards when the market quickly rebounded. A similar situation played out in March 2020, when the S&P 500 experienced one of the fastest crashes in history at the start of the pandemic. The short term was rough, but the S&P 500 has since earned total returns of nearly 112%. The third scenario may be the one that concerns investors the most: a prolonged recession. But even if that is on the horizon, investing at record-high prices doesn't necessarily mean you'll lose money. A market downturn may result in your portfolio losing value. But if you hold your investments until the rebound without selling, you likely won't experience any actual losses. Say, for example, you invested in an S&P 500 index fund in December 2007. The market was reaching record highs at the time, but it was about to slip into the Great Recession, which would last until 2009. In that time, your investment would have plunged by more than 50%. Selling at any point during that recession could have locked in significant losses, since you would have likely been selling your investments for far less than what you paid for them. However, if you simply stayed in the market, you would have earned total returns of around 75% after 10 years and 312% by today -- more than quadrupling your money. In other words, even if you had invested at the seemingly worst possible moment -- at record-high prices immediately before one of the most severe recessions in U.S. history -- you would still have made a significant amount of money over time. Now, could you have earned more if you had waited until the market was at its lowest point to buy? Definitely. But hindsight is 20/20, and nobody knows when the next correction or bear market will begin. Timing the market accurately is next to impossible, and if your timing is even slightly off, you could potentially lose a lot of money. Rather than waiting for a chance to "buy the dip," it's often wiser to invest consistently. You can always increase the amount you invest during the next slump, when stocks are at a discount. But in the meantime, continuing to buy can ensure you're not missing out on immediate gains if stock prices stay on the rise. One major caveat to remember The key to ensuring your portfolio survives a downturn is to only invest in long-term quality stocks. Sometimes weak companies can thrive in the short term, earning exponential growth in a matter of months. But those investments are far less likely to pull through tough economic times. Healthy companies with strong business foundations have a much better chance of seeing long-term growth despite short-term hiccups. When a company has a solid competitive advantage, a competent leadership team, robust financials, and a long-term plan for the future, it's much more likely to survive even the worst recessions or bear markets. The most important thing you can do right now, then, is double-check that every stock in your portfolio deserves to be there. Once you're certain that all of your investments have healthy fundamentals, you can rest easier knowing that you're well prepared for whatever may lie ahead. Should you buy stock in S&P 500 Index right now? Before you buy stock in S&P 500 Index, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and S&P 500 Index wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $624,823!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,064,820!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,019% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 178% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025 Katie Brockman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The S&P 500 Has Reached an All-Time High: Should You Invest Now or Wait for a Correction? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's Former Jobs Data Chief Decries Firing of Successor
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump's firing of the chief labor statistician was criticized by her predecessor, who called it an unfounded move that will undermine confidence in a key data set on the US economy. We Should All Be Biking Along the Beach Seeking Relief From Heat and Smog, Cities Follow the Wind Chicago Curbs Hiring, Travel to Tackle $1 Billion Budget Hole NYC Mayor Adams Gives Bally's Bronx Casino Plan a Second Chance 'This is damaging,' William Beach, whom Trump picked in his first term to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. Trump on Friday fired Erika McEntarfer hours after labor market data showed weak jobs growth based in part on steep downward revisions for May and June. The move by Trump, who claimed the latest monthly report was 'phony,' prompted an outcry from economists and lawmakers. 'I don't know that there's any grounds at all for this firing,' said Beach, whom McEntarfer replaced in January 2024. 'And it really hurts the statistical system. It undermines credibility in BLS.' Studies indicate that the agency's data is more accurate than 20 or 30 years ago, including any revisions of the initial data, Beach said. Even so, he said he'll trust future BLS data because people working for the agency are 'some of the most loyal Americans you can imagine,' making the bureau 'the finest statistical agency in the entire world.' Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, speaking Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation, urged the US government to improve its data collection to avoid revisions that engender distrust. 'We watch what consumers really do. We watch what businesses really do,' Moynihan said, while not addressing the politics of the firing. 'They can get this data, I think, other ways, and I think that's where the focus would be.' He noted the revision for May and June data, while not unusual, was one of the largest in seven years. 'That creates doubt around it,' he said. 'Let's spend some money. Let's bring the information together. Let's find where else in the government money is reported.' McEntarfer was confirmed by the Senate in a bipartisan 86-8 vote. Vice President JD Vance, then a senator, voted to approve her nomination. Kevin Hassett, Trump's chief economic adviser at the White House, alleged that the large jobs data revisions were poorly explained and were evidence enough for a 'fresh set of eyes' at BLS. He sought to contradict Beach's portrayal of the agency as politically neutral. 'The bottom line is that there were people involved in creating these numbers,' Hassett said on NBC's Meet the Press. Pressed on whether Trump would fire anyone offering data he disagreed with, Hassett, who heads the National Economic Council, disagreed. 'No, absolutely not,' he said. 'The president wants his own people there so that when we see the numbers, they're more transparent and more reliable.' (Updates with Moynihan comments beginning in sixth paragraph.) How Podcast-Obsessed Tech Investors Made a New Media Industry Everyone Loves to Hate Wind Power. Scotland Found a Way to Make It Pay Off Russia Builds a New Web Around Kremlin's Handpicked Super App Cage-Free Eggs Are Booming in the US, Despite Cost and Trump's Efforts What's Really Behind Those Rosy GDP Numbers? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
