The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has released a new mobile application, GPA Trucker, designed to make interactions smoother, easier, and faster for truck drivers at Port of Savannah terminals. This development is poised to benefit the feed and grain industry by potentially accelerating the movement of agricultural commodities through the busy port.
The Port of Savannah handles an average of 14,000 to 16,000 gate moves daily from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. According to GPA, truck turn times at its Garden City Terminal average 35 minutes for a single move and 53 minutes for dual moves, where a driver delivers an export and picks up an import.
“At GPA, we see drivers as our front-line customers, and we are always working to provide a superior customer experience,” said GPA President and CEO Griff Lynch. “Helping truckers solve problems before they arrive at our gates improves overall efficiency for them and for the cargo owners who choose Georgia Ports.”
Lynch added that such supply chain velocity, enabling drivers to make six to eight turns daily for local warehouse deliveries, creates a financial benefit for cargo owners by reducing inventory carrying costs.
Key features of the GPA Trucker app designed to assist drivers include:
- Improved PIN Process: The app digitizes container transactions. Georgia Ports uses Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), valid for 72 hours, to track container moves. The app provides a digital version of the gate ticket, which details a container’s pickup or drop-off location, and can be saved or transmitted.
- Reduced Wasted Trips: Drivers can use the app to verify if a PIN is still valid or if an export container has been shifted to a different vessel, preventing unnecessary travel.
- Enhanced Information Access: The app informs drivers which terminal entry gate is closest to their container and sends announcements, such as changes to gate hours or weather alerts.
- User Convenience: The app offers facial recognition or fingerprint login.
Future updates to the GPA Trucker app are expected to include a push notification function, so drivers automatically receive their digital tickets, and navigation assistance via Waze or Apple Maps to help drivers locate containers within the terminal.
