Port of Charleston welcomes Biden, strong January box business

January container volume at Charleston grew 18 percent    The Port of Charleston continues to pile up robust year-over-year container business each month.
   In January, terminals handled 152,917 TEUs, an 18 percent increase in volume compared to January 2014. 
   Container traffic for fiscal year-to-date since July is up 14 percent to 1.07 million standard shipping units over the same period a year ago, with the physical number of boxes moved up 15 percent to 614,372.
   The operating results released by state officials last week coincided with a visit by Vice President Joseph Biden and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who highlighted recent federal decisions to support the port’s growth and made the case for broader investment in transportation infrastructure as Congress considers reauthorizing a surface transportation program that lacks sufficient revenues to sustain necessary improvements for highways, bridges, rail and transit.  
   The South Carolina Ports Authority is aggressively implementing a $2 billion capital investment plan aimed at upgrading its infrastructure to meet volume growth and the new generation of mega-size container vessels now being deployed by ocean carriers. In calendar year 2014, container volume grew 12 percent to 1.8 million TEUs, solidifying Charleston’s place as the ninth largest container port in the United States. The port authority also posted record intermodal rail growth last year of 38 percent, with 199,000 rail lifts. 
   Rail volume has doubled since 2011 and nearly 20 percent of the port authority’s container volume moves by rail, aided by the 15-month old inland port in Greer. The terminal handled 5,068 rail moves, an all-time high for a single month, has lifted 30,495 fiscal year-to-date.
   South Carolina set a record in 2014 with $29.7 billion in export sales, up 13 percent from 2013, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures. The Port of Charleston is a major conduit for manufacturers to reach overseas markets.
   Biden and Foxx spoke at the Wando Welch Terminal to celebrate DOT’s award last year of a $10.8 million TIGER grant that will help modernize the facility for receiving big ships. The Army Corps of Engineers last fall also gave tentative approval to deepen the main section of the Charleston navigation channel to 52 foot, from its current 45-foot depth.
   Wando Welch, the port’s busiest terminal, handles about 11 post-Panamax vessels per week.
   “Infrastructure investments grow jobs and economies, and they are critically important to our nation,” Biden said, according to excerpts from his speech issued by the port authority. “The future of commerce remains on the high seas, with cargo arriving on post-Panamax vessels. The South Carolina Ports Authority is ahead of the curve, and modernizing the Wando Terminal ensures continued growth of maritime commerce and jobs.” 
   Biden previously visited the Port of Charleston in September 2013, after the harbor deepening was selected by the Obama administration as a project deserving expedited review.
   “We need more of these investments, not less,” Foxx chimed in.
   In other news, the SCPA announced that BBC Chartering will provide a regular monthly breakbulk service connecting Charleston to Asia. The service will call at Shanghai, Masan (South Korea), Kobe and Yokahama (Japan). BBC ships have previously called at Charleston on an ad-hoc basis.