Last week, we attended?
NAIOP Georgia
's Developing Leaders Educational Breakfast at?
Piedmont Driving Club
. Panelists?
Craig Hudson
,?
Rebecca Francosky, C.M.
, and?
Stacy Watson
?discussed the state of Georgia's logistics system by rail, air, and sea.
Here's a little bit of what we learned:
- While Atlanta is home to the most traveled airport in the world, the?
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
?ranks 13th in North America in terms of overall cargo volume and 43rd in the world. The biggest cargo airports in the U.S. are in Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis, Tennessee because of FedEx and UPS.
- The Hartsfield-Jackson airport is in the process of expanding its cargo capacity, and it is projecting to double its capacity in the next 5-10 years.
-
Georgia Ports Authority
's Garden City Terminal is the largest and fastest-growing container terminal in North America and the third busiest gateway for container trade in the United States. Georgia Ports Authority continues to invest in its facilities and ability to efficiently move freight, and it has over $1.3 billion in construction projects currently going on at the Garden City Terminal.
- Rail is one of the greenest ways to ship freight, and it is about seven times more efficient than trucks when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions.
-
Norfolk Southern
's customers are factoring in the impacts of carbon emissions when making their shipping decisions, as companies are becoming increasingly more aware of their environmental impact (check out Norfolk Southern's Carbon Calculator).
- Electric vehicle assembly and electric vehicle batteries are having huge, positive impacts across Georgia's logistics systems, especially for sea and rail.
- The Atlanta airport owns 22 properties outside of the airport fence, and it is looking to build in and around the airport, College Park, and East Point.
