The MSC Hudson works its way up the Savannah River toward Savannah's port just after dusk. The 852 foot-long cargo vessel is a new breed of post-Panamax ship. With a beam measurement of 131 feet, the Hudson is 25 feet too wide to fit through the Panama Canal. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Anterial Warren unloads a shipping container filled with boxes of pickles imported from India at Dollar Tree's southeast distribution center in Savannah Georgia. Photo by Stephen Berend.

An automated conveyor system keeps inventory flowing to the loading docks at Dollar Tree's southeast distribution center in Savannah Georgia. Photo by Stephen Berend.

An automated conveyor system keeps inventory flowing to the loading docks at Dollar Tree's southeast distribution center in Savannah Georgia. Photo by Stephen Berend.

A forklift retrieves inventory from one of the top shelves at Dollar Tree's southeast distribution center in Savannah Georgia. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Cargo containers are unloaded from the ship Delaware Bridge at Georgia Ports Authority's Container Berth 5. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Cranes tower over a cargo ship docked in one of the berths at the Georgia Ports Authority's Savannah facility. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Tug boats help a container ship dock at the Georgia Ports Authority's Savannah operation. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Trucker David Daring receives his mission ticket upon arrival at the Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah. Photo by Stephen Berend.

From her cubicle in the control room, gate processing clerk Karen Dodd greets incoming traffic and assigns a mission ticket to ensure that cargo is delivered to the correct location within the port complex. Photo by Stephen Berend.

T.I.R. (Terminal Interchange Receipt) clerk and checker Charlotte Selman inspects incoming truck shipments and records any visible damage to the cargo container. Photo by Stephen Berend.

R.F. boxes, such as this one inside the cab of a jockey truck, are used to track cargo containers as their moved from one location to another within the port. Photo by Stephen Berend.

As ships are unloaded, mobile VACIS units are used to scan the contents of some containers. Currently about 10 percent of all cargo gets scanned. Photo by Stephen Berend.

A customs officer checks an incoming container for radiation at the Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Day in and day out, cranes load and unload shipping containers from large cargo vessels at the Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Shipping containers are loaded onto a cargo vessel at the Georgia Ports Authority. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Jack Kiley operates one of the cranes used to load and unload containers from cargo ships at the Georgia Ports Authority. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Shipping containers stacked five high fill the landscape at the Georgia Ports Authority's Savannah facility. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Shipping containers stacked five high fill the landscape at the Georgia Ports Authority's Savannah facility. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Shipping containers stacked five high fill the landscape at the Georgia Ports Authority's Savannah facility. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Shipping containers stacked five high fill the landscape at the Georgia Ports Authority's Savannah facility. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Gantry cranes move up and down a row of stacked containers as they're sorted and prepared for shipment. Photo by Stephen Berend.

A toplift unloads containers arriving at the Georgia Ports Authority by train. Photo by Stephen Berend.

Georgia Ports Authority, container yard. Photo by Carl Elmore.

Georgia Ports Authority, ship and container yards . Photo by Carl Elmore.

Georgia Ports Authority, Berth 8 (at top left) April 2006. Photo by Carl Elmore.