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Telephone company looks at big merger
phone coverage
This map shows the present coverage areas of the two phone companies. - photo by CenturyLink map

CenturyLink, a communications company with local offices in Hinesville, recently announced it will merge with Qwest, considered by some to be a leader in the networks services market because of its national fiber-optic network.
CenturyLink provides Internet, video and telephone services and is included on a Fortune 500 list of America’s largest corporations. The company is headquartered in Monroe, La.
The merger was valued at $22.4 billion, a tax-free stock-for-stock purchase, said Randy Krause, public relations manager for CenturyLink in Georgia and South Carolina
“We believe the combination of CenturyLink’s and Qwest’s employees, assets and service areas will provide us greater scale, scope and expertise and will provide significant benefits for shareholders, customers and our communities,” CenturyLink Chief Executive Officer and President Glen F. Post III said in a news release. “This combination will enhance our ability to deploy innovative IP products and high-bandwidth services to business customers, expand availability and speed to consumers, and offer superior, differentiated video products.”
“This transaction is compelling for our shareholders, who will benefit from an immediate premium for their shares, an increase of approximately 50 percent in the annual dividend, and the opportunity to participate in the upside potential of the combined company through their ownership of CenturyLink stock,” Qwest Chairman and Chief Executive Edward A. Mueller said.
The merger is expected to be complete in early April, Krause said.
“We were in 33 states and we’ll now be in 37 states,” he said.
The merger, he added, will help make CenturyLink “more competitive.”
CenturyLink and Qwest together will have 50,000 employees, 5 million broadband customers, 1.5 million video customers and 17.5 million access lines, Krause said.
“They (Qwest) have some (desirable) technologies and it made good business sense to team up,” he said. The coveted technology Qwest will soon share with CenturyLink is its fiber optic network, he said.
“It (the merger) should be transparent to our CenturyLink customers here in Georgia,” said Durand Standard, CenturyLink general manager and vice president of operations for Georgia and South Carolina. “What we’ll do is broaden our scope and our footprint nationally, giving us greater resources to draw from locally. Ultimately, we will go on net with their fiber facilities and derive some savings; we will draw from their expertise and technology.”
Krause said CenturyLink’s markets “overlaid” Qwest’s markets in several other states. In regard to potential layoffs, he said “we don’t know at this point.” He said there is always a chance of layoffs with corporate acquisitions, but added company officials are optimistic layoffs will not occur.

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GPA grows trade, market share
Intermodal volume up 20 percent
port photo
Rubber tired gantry cranes handle cargo at the Chatham Intermodal Container Transfer Facility at the Port of Savannah. The Georgia Ports Authority's Mason Mega Rail project will double rail lift capacity to 1 million containers per year by 2020 - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority achieved 14 percent growth in March container volumes, moving 355,208 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers.

From July 2017 to March, TEU container trade grew by 9 percent, or 255,786 additional units for a total of 3.08 million, a new record for Savannah.

"Savannah's continued strength is a reflection of our customers' commitment, Georgia's leadership, and the many dedicated service providers, GPA employees and ILA members who come together every day to achieve great things," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "March marked our 17th consecutive month of business expansion thanks, in part, to a strong economy and growing market share."

Intermodal rail volumes jumped by 20 percent in March and 15.4 percent for the fiscal year to date, for a total of 318,454 containers handled over nine months – another record for the GPA.

"As the numbers show, our rail cargo is growing at a faster pace than our overall trade," GPA Chairman Jimmy Allgood said. "This is important because rail is playing a key role in our responsible growth strategy. We anticipate our rail infrastructure investments to take 250,000 trucks off the road each year by 2020."

The GPA recently broke ground on its Mason Mega Rail Terminal, on which the Port of Savannah will build 10,000-foot unit trains within its own footprint. From the expanded rail infrastructure at Garden City Terminal, Class I rail providers CSX and Norfolk Southern will provide direct rail service to major Southeast and Midwestern markets from Memphis to St. Louis, Chicago to Cincinnati.

An added benefit is that the Mason Mega Rail project will move all rail switching on terminal – improving vehicle traffic flow around the port.

In August, the GPA will open its Appalachian Regional Port in Murray County. Located in an industrial belt, including the production and export of carpet and flooring, automobiles and tires, the ARP will provide an alternative to all-truck transit to Northwest Georgia.

Each round-trip container moved via the Appalachian Regional Port will offset 710 truck miles on Georgia highways.

March was also a strong month for roll-on/roll-off auto and machinery units at the Port of Brunswick and Ocean Terminal in Savannah. Colonel's Island Terminal in Brunswick handled 66,144 cars, trucks and tractors, while Ocean Terminal added 4,050, for a total 70,194, a 17.2 percent increase.

"The global economy is thriving and our volumes are following suit," Lynch said. "As existing accounts grow their footprint in the expanding auto facility in Brunswick, Georgia's competitive logistical advantages are drawing additional business across all of our docks."

Lynch noted that for the fiscal year to date, Mayor's Point breakbulk terminal in Brunswick grew by 44 percent (34,515 tons) to reach 112,728 tons of forest products. At East River Terminal, bulk cargo expanded by 34 percent July-March (189,918 tons) for a total of 750,384 tons.

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