Truckers hauling containers into the Port of Savannah, Ga., Garden City Terminal will find clerks and checkers waiting to process them with hand-held computers beginning Oct. 2.

Last week, the Georgia Port Authority invited representatives from 90 trucking companies to a luncheon to learn about the nearly completed improvements being done to the Garden City Terminal, reports the Savannah Morning News. The article said the improvements will cost more than $4 million and are expected to cut turnaround times for drivers picking up and dropping off containers.
Truckers move more than 2,500 containers a day into and out of the port.
Authority officials say the improvements are likely to cause additional problems in the beginning, such as mix-ups with the size and location of container pick-ups, but after the first few weeks the system should be functioning smoothly.
Some of the changes include checking in trucks, their containers and jobs being done at the front gate by entering information into a computer system. Further inspections will be made more efficient by using hand-held computers that allow the port's clerks and checkers to process trucks faster.
Slow turnaround times were part of the reason port truckers in Savannah staged a protest over the Labor Day weekend, along with high fuel prices.