The Appalachian Regional Port in Northwest Georgia’s Murray County achieved its busiest November on record, moving 3,876 containers last month — a nearly 35% jump from a year earlier.
The roughly 1,000-container gain underscores the inland terminal’s expanding role as a logistics hub. The rail facility provides daily service, with seven outbound and seven inbound trains per week to and from the Port of Savannah.
Set near the town of Chatsworth, about an hour and a half north of Atlanta, the rail-served terminal connects directly to Savannah via CSX. Each container railed to the Port of Savannah through the inland hub eliminates about 710 round-trip truck miles, reducing highway congestion and emissions through Metro Atlanta.
The state of Georgia lists Murray County, the ARP’s home, as a Tier 1 county, incentivizing development with the highest job-creation tax credit available at $4,000 per new job. Since opening in 2018, the ARP has helped to draw billions in private investment and thousands of jobs from manufacturers.
The ARP is in the 15-county Northwest Georgia economic development region, where the economic impact of the Port of Savannah supports 45,800 full- and part-time jobs. According to an economic impact study by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, port-supported employment across Northwest Georgia increased by 14% or more than 5,600 jobs between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024.
The ARP handled more than 46,000 containers in fiscal 2025, which ended June 30. Through the first five months of fiscal 2026, the ARP has processed 20,030 containers, up 20% from the same period a year earlier.
While the ARP was GPA’s first inland port, the Blue Ridge Connector is currently under construction in the Gainesville, Ga., area. Served by Norfolk Southern, the BRC is expected to open in the Spring of 2026.
Port officials expect strong demand at the BRC, given its location only 50 miles from Atlanta and its proximity to Interstate 85 and local industry. The Blue Ridge Connector will serve a manufacturing and logistics corridor in Northeast Georgia, home to a regional population of more than 2 million people.
In North Carolina, importers and exporters tap into a faster supply chain through a direct rail connection between Savannah and Rocky Mount, North Carolina, via the CSX Carolina Connector intermodal terminal. The Carolina Connector service provides CSX rail departures from Savannah seven days a week, with a three-day transit time from vessel to cargo arrival.
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