Southeastern ports of the United States are taking advantage of the current low demand levels to prepare for the next upsurge. During the year 2022, the ports of Savannah, Virginia and Charleston have announced a number of development projects that promise to expand the facilities’ handling capacities. At the Port of Savannah, Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) plan to renovate and realign the docks at the Ocean Terminal. This new initiative aims to facilitate port operations in two ways: rebuilding the docks to provide over 853 meters of berth space and installing new ship-to-shore cranes. The project also intends to increase the storage capacity of the port and transform the terminal into an all-container operation. In South Carolina, the channel-deepening project at the Port of Charleston approaches completion enabling the port to receive 20,000 TEU ships. With the channel deepened to 52 feet (15.8 meters), Charleston will become one of the deepest harbours on the Southeast Coast. This will be complemented by the expansion of the region's trucking services. Recently, an agreement between Southeastern ports and container lines for the establishment of a shared pool of truck chassis was approved by the Federal Maritime Commission. According to Lloyd’s List, the chassis pool will be the largest fully interoperable pool in the US, with more than 60,000 chassis. In addition, the South Carolina Ports Authority allocated $550m for developing rail and barge projects that will serve Charleston Port. The project, called Navy Base Intermodal Facility, will be located 1.6 kilometres from the Leatherman Terminal and is expected to be ready by July 2025. The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) has also made progress in the dredging work to deepen the harbour to 55 feet (about 16.7 meters). It is further constructing a larger intermodal rail facility at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT). Both of these projects will continue throughout the year, according to JOC. Laden import volumes through Southeast US ports grew nearly 7 per cent year-over-year during the first ten months of 2022, reported JOC. The diversion of cargo from the West Coast to the East Coast played a role in this growth, especially during the first half of 2022. The fact that the main ports in the Southeast are investing large sums to take on more capacity is a sign that they forecast more growth in the future, analysts believe.