Georgia's Ports: Clayton County's Economic Future Depends on Logistics and Transportation
by Grant Wainscott

Last year, after months of research and analysis, the county realigned its economic development efforts to focus on specific targeted industry clusters. We sought to identify sectors that not only leveraged the County’s primary resources and best options for business growth, but that mirrored some of the state’s core recruiting efforts as well.

AS WE LEAP FORWARD, WE FOCUS ON THE IMPACT OF LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, THE USE OF GEORGIA’S PORTS AS AN EXAMPLE, AND HOW REGIONAL AND GLOBAL ISSUES AFFECT OUR COUNTY.

Sea and Land Cargo
Much of the cargo you see on the interstates, or that rides over the rails on trains through Jonesboro, Morrow, Rex and Forest Park, comes through Georgia’s ports of Savannah and Brunswick, destined for factories, distributors and stores across the country, items to line the shelves at shops we frequent every day and products we use in our daily lives. Each of the containers represents a job in Georgia, whether it is your neighbor who works for a global freight forwarder, or even your favorite customer service clerk at the local home improvement store.

Clayton County is not just a dot on a highway map for these shipments. Many of those containers are destined for warehouses, factories and storage yards right here in the county. Hundreds of logistics and manufacturing companies provide jobs and investment for our families, neighbors and colleagues. We are inextricably linked with the outside world of global trade and logistics. And things are about to get even busier…

Our Georgia Ports
At the recent State of the Ports luncheon in downtown Atlanta, Governor Nathan Deal, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, and Curtis Foltz of the Georgia Ports Authority joined hundreds of business and civic leaders to highlight the importance of our sea ports, and the critical need for deepening them due to the new ships that will be using the widened Panama Canal. The three leaders examined the critical role Georgia’s coastal and inland ports play in the state’s economic development strategy, and discussed the widening of the Panama Canal and its effects on our port’s facilities and capabilities.

What Does All This Mean for Clayton County?
Simply put, the deepening of the ports in Georgia means new jobs and investment for Clayton County, and the entire state.

Clayton County is ideally situated at the convergence of the interstate highway system, the rail network, and the world’s busiest airport, making us a preferred location for logistics and distribution companies. Direct rail and road connections into metro Atlanta and Clayton County, from the ports in Savannah and Brunswick, have enticed businesses to locate here for decades.

Increased cargo shipments into the ports mean more products moving in and out of Georgia. This, in turn, requires more storage, handling and distribution facilities to handle the increased load. Presently, Clayton County is already home to hundreds of distribution, logistics and warehousing companies benefiting from existing trade routes.

There are literally hundreds of other businesses, employing thousands of Clayton County residents, scattered throughout the county who depend on this global trade route for their livelihood. Commercial gas stations provide fuel and food for hungry drivers. Truck repair and maintenance facilities employ highly skilled mechanics to keep these rigs running. Tractor-trailer sales offices sell rigs and trailers to independent operators and our region’s carriers. Forklift operators help load and offload product from these containers. In addition, Atlanta Technical College even has a commercial driving license school that utilizes several sites in Forest Park to train their students to help move the products of tomorrow.

Companies, investment and pension funds, and private individuals all over the world have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in buildings and facilities throughout Clayton County, to leverage our location and accessibility to the global marketplace. They pay much needed real estate taxes, and employ our family, friends and neighbors. If we are to continue to grow and prosper, we must realize just how intertwined our economy is with areas like Savannah and Panama.

Our Economic Future
Much like the investments made over the years at Atlanta’s growing airport, resulting in what is now the world’s busiest passenger airport, investments into the ports will help solidify Georgia’s place as a global logistics and transportation leader. Investments at Hartsfield-Jackson affect and benefit everyone in the state, from Clayton County, to Helen, to the Golden Isles and so, too, will the strategic investments in Georgia’s ports.
In Clayton County, we are growing our physical infrastructure and economic capacities to take advantage of this new wave of growth that should help employ our citizens for years to come.