State GDP is value added, which consists of employee compensation, proprietor income, other property income, and indirect business taxes. Value added is equivalent to gross output (sales or receipts and other operating income, commodity taxes, and inventory change) minus intermediate inputs (consumption of goods and services purchased from other industries or imported). It is often referred to as the state-level counterpart of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). Income is all forms of employment income, including wages, salaries, and proprietors’ incomes. It does not include non-wage compensation (e.g., pensions and health insurance), transfer payments (e.g., welfare or social security benefits), or unearned income (e.g., dividends, interest, and rent). Employment includes total wage and salary employees as well as self-employed individuals. It encompasses both full- and part-time jobs and is measured in annual average jobs. Methodology E stimating the economic impact of Georgia’s deepwater ports involved two distinct steps. First, data regarding ton- nage by type and capital expenditures were obtained from the Georgia Ports Authority. The tonnage and capital expenditure data were imported into the U.S. Department of Transportation’s MARAD Port Economic Impact Kit to estimate the direct, indirect, induced, and total economic impacts of the ports industry. Second, ports users’ spending was estimated. Ports users were surveyed to determine the degree to which they depend on Georgia’s deepwater ports. To help correct for non-response and/or incomplete responses and to update the analysis, several types of government and administrative data were used to assess the proportion of revenue or sales in various industries that could be at- tributed to ports usage. The IMPLAN economic impact assessment software system was used to estimate the indirect and induced economic impacts of the ports-related portion of spending by users. Finally, the statewide economic im- pact estimates were allocated to indvidual counties based on each county’s economic structure and PIERS trade data regarding county-level imports and exports (measured in terms of short tons). Estimating the Ports Industry’s Economic Impact A revised version of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s MARAD port economic impact model that was built specifically for Georgia was used to estimate the direct, indirect, and induced economic impact of spending by the ports industry. A general discussion of the model, including its structure, methods, and use can be found in the two- volume MARAD Port Economic Impact Kit. The Georgia Ports Authority provided the fiscal year 2021 data on cargo volume (import and export) by mode of transportation for the Savannah and Brunswick facilities that the MARAD model required. The cargo volume re- ported for the Port of Savannah includes data for the Garden City and Ocean terminals. The cargo volume reported for the Port of Brunswick includes data for Colonel’s Island, Brunswick East River/Lanier Docks, and the Mayor’s Point Terminal. Table 1 summarizes cargo volume for cars, containerized cargo, breakbulk cargo, dry bulk cargo, and liquid bulk cargo. Cargo volume is expressed on a per-vehicle basis for auto/vehicle cargo; a per-TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) basis for containerized cargo; and a per-short ton (2,000 pounds) for breakbulk, dry bulk, and liquid bulk. In addition, the Georgia Ports Authority provided estimates of cargo volume for the private facilities/docks based on an analysis of data obtained from PIERS (Table 2). The Georgia Ports Authority also provided capital expenditures (ports investment) in FY 2021 for the facilities that it owns. Capital expenditures by the private facilities/docks are not included in this analysis, however. Estimating the Ports Users’ Economic Impact Data and insights from two surveys were used to estimate the port users’ economic impacts. For example, in Spring/Summer 2014, the Selig Center collaborated with the Georgia Governor’s Development Council and the Center of Innovation for Logistics to survey representatives from Georgia’s strategic industries (as well as economic develop- ment and transportation experts) regarding Georgia’s ports and their impact on transportation competitiveness. Also, a 6
