Charleston container cargo rises 3.3% in February

The Port of Charleston exported the 2 millionth BMW automobile manufactured in South Carolina during the month, highlighting increases in vehicle and breakbulk volumes at the port.    Container volume at the Port of Charleston grew 3.3 percent in February, year-over-year, to 157,962 TEUs. For the fiscal year that began in July, Charleston has handled 4.4 percent more containerized cargo, a total of 1.28 million TEUs, than during the same period in the prior year.
   Growth at Charleston has slowed in the past year, as it has at other East Coast ports, but the fact that there is growth above last year’s outsized double digit 
   The Port of Charleston handled 1.97 million TEUs in calendar year 2015, 10 percent than in the previous year. In February 2015, cargo volume spiked 18 percent as shippers diverted cargo to avoid port congestion on the West Coast associated with labor disruption on the docks. But Charleston, as well as other ports on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, have retained some of the cargo flow even after West Coast ports achieved labor piece and instituted other efficiency reforms to address underlying problems that delayed cargo deliveries.
   The South Carolina Ports Authority said it expects low-single digit gains in containerized freight to continue through the spring. 
   The Inland Port in Greer, S.C., recorded 8,623 rail lifts in February, its highest ever monthly volume since the facility opened in November 2013. Since July, rail moves have increased nearly 66 percent to 58,211 moves.
   The amount of other cargo handled at Charleston also grew last month to 66,619 tons. Fiscal year-to-date breakbulk volume is nearly 31 percent ahead of budget, with 799,687 pier tons handled.
   Included in those figures are rolling stock, and on Wednesday Charleston exported the 2 millionth BMW manufactured in South Carolina, the port authority said.
   The X5 SUV was loaded onto a Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics vessel for delivery to Germany.
   The port exported more than 250,000 BMW vehicles in 2015, driving a 13 percent year-over-year increase in finished vehicle volume last year. Charleston is also the import gateway for BMW containerized shipments that include imports of engines and transmissions from Germany and exports of parts and vehicle kits for emerging markets.
   The port played a key role in BMW’s decision to locate in South Carolina 20 years ago, and its first import vehicles were handled through Charleston in 1994. In 2011, the South Carolina Ports Authority completed a $23 million renovation of Columbus Street Terminal with adequate capacity for growing vehicle volumes, and BMW is the largest user of that terminal today.
   BMW’s cargo commitment was a significant factor in SCPA’s decision to open the Inland Port in Greer. 
   In other news, the SCPA board approved plans to purchase a 185-foot boom lift truck for the Wando Welch Terminal to service and maintain two new super post-Panamax cranes that are scheduled for delivery in late May.