A footnote in an announcement appearing in a Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) press release on September 27th, reads as follows:

“Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 286,476 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $ 14.9 billion in income, $ 55.8 billion in revenue and $ 2.8 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s bustling economy.”

The word “bustling” is also used by Maura Yates in her Sept. 29th “Staten Island Advance” article (“Brisk business means more $$ for containerport employees”) wherein she describes the success of the new, but smaller, container terminal at the Port of NY/NJ:

“STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Business is booming at New York Container Terminal – and so are the salaries.

“Average wages for the approximately 500 employees at the Mariners Harbor seaport have jumped 23 percent over the past year, but that’s mostly because workers have been putting in extra hours while handling more ships and cargo each day.

“More than 50 longshoremen have been hired over the past two months, said terminal President and CEO Jim Devine, and yet more employees are scheduled to be added, to keep pace with the increased activity.

“But with “bustling” business comes hours of overtime, Devine explained, longshoremen can expect 70 – 80 hour workweeks, commanding an average salary of about $ 90,000.

“New engineers and superintendents also were hired in recent months to work on the terminal’s new freight rail service.

“But the growth has officially paid off … September was a record-breaking month at the port, with Sept. 17 marking the busiest day yet, as 3,018 trucks passed into and out of the terminal’s gates, carrying cargo from all over the world, as well as American products to be loaded onto ships for export …”

“‘This is a tribute to the kind of labor we’ve got,’ Devine said, explaining the efficiency of the port operations.

“Since Devine took the helm in 2001, the fledgling seaport has overcome physical infrastructure limitations and economic disadvantages that made it difficult to compete with the ports in Elizabeth and Newark …

“‘It’s the classic case of “Field of Dreams”,’ Devine said. ‘Build it and they will come.’”