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Charleston's South Carolina volume rises 14pc to 1.9 million TEU

CONTAINER volumes increased 14 per cent year on year to 1.9 million TEU at South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) in the 2015 fiscal year, to achieve above-market growth and strength across all business sectors.

"We reached near-record levels of containerised cargo and saw strong volume and good diversification of the breakbulk sector," said SCPA president and CEO Jim Newsome, whose principal holding is the Port of Charleston.

"From an operations perspective, highlights of this year include handling the highest ever month of pier containers in May and Inland Port rail moves in June, all while delivering high reliability and logistics efficiencies for our customers," he said.

Pier containers, or box volume, climbed 14 per cent in FY2015 with 138,221 more boxes handled compared to FY2014. SCPA moved 96,916 boxes in June, pushing total fiscal year volume to 1.1 million containers.

"The SCPA's continued success is rooted in the leadership of our strong board, a talented CEO and senior staff and support from a productive maritime community," said SCPA chairman Bill Stern.

Strong fundamentals played a key role, he said. Amid progress of the Panama Canal expansion and the Bayonne Bridge raising, big ships have come to east coast trade routes.

The SCPA currently receives 11 post-Panamax vessel calls each week, said a port statement. Manufacturing in the southeast remains strong, and SCPA provides the deep water required to handle ships fully loaded with heavy exports, it continued.

"Fiscal year 2015 was marked by a number of exciting economic development announcements representing future volume opportunities for SCPA, including Daimler, Kent Bicycle, Volvo, and most recently, Dollar Tree," Mr Newsome said.

"The port's ability to serve these companies' supply chains played a key role in their decision to locate or expand in SC. Our strategic initiative to grow our cargo base is paying off," he said.

Breakbulk tonnage exceeded fiscal year planned volumes by six per cent with 1.4 million pier tons handled during the year. Georgetown moved 548,933 tons during the period, while Charleston handled 871,974 tons.

Roll-on/roll-off cargo within the breakbulk sector grew significantly, and SCPA achieved the highest finished vehicle volume ever handled at the Columbus Street Terminal.

In FY2015, 253,338 vehicles moved across SCPA docks, an increase of 15 per cent over the previous record of 219,900 vehicles in FY2008.

Monthly volumes peaked at the Inland Port in June, with 6,736 rail moves handled during the month. The terminal's first full fiscal year of operations concluded with 58,407 rail moves, which surpasses initial annual volumes projected five years into terminal operations.