Gateway Choice Is a Total Cost and Reliability Decision Implications for Inland U.S. Supply Chains from Asian Imports

This paper, developed by the Georgia Tech Supply Chain and Logistics Institute (SCL), presents a data-driven analysis of Asian import flows through Los Angeles/Long Beach (LA/LB) and Savannah, with a focus on inland destinations including Atlanta, Memphis, and Nashville.

For many years, gateway selection for Asian imports has been treated primarily as an ocean freight decision. Rates from Asia to the West Coast versus the East Coast are visible, negotiated frequently, and often used as the primary lens for routing decisions. The work summarized here suggests that this approach is incomplete and, in many cases, misleading for inland supply chains. The findings point to an important conclusion: total landed cost and arrival reliability are driven far more by inland transportation and port dynamics than by ocean transit time or ocean rates. This has practical implications for how shippers design networks, allocate volume across gateways, and manage service risk.