The Savannah metro economy remained steady in the fourth quarter of 2015, as gains in employment were offset by activity at the ports returning to a more sustainable level in the second half of the year. But there is no cause for alarm, according to the author of Armstrong State University’s latest Economic Monitor. “The first half of 2015 was practically off the charts, especially in terms of port activity due to cargo diversions from the West Coast,” said Michael Toma, economist and chairman of ASU’s Center for Regional Analysis. “Now that the port is back to a more reasonable level of activity, we should be seeing more sustainable growth going forward.” In general, Toma said, the underlying fundamentals of the three-county regional economy remain strong. “While the numbers suggest the economy was still relatively flat in the fourth quarter, those numbers require a more subtle read,” he said.