Charleston box volumes sag 2.1% in May

The South Carolina Ports Authority expects a modest increase in container volumes for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.    Container volumes between January and May at the Port of Charleston are down 2 percent to 809,618 TEUs compared with the same 2015 period, but the South Carolina Ports Authority is projecting a better year in 2017.
   For the fiscal year that began last July, the port authority reported a 2.3 percent increase in standard shipping units, 1.79 million TEUs, that moved through Charleston. But much of the increase occurred during 2015, when East Coast ports benefited from cargo diversion from the West Coast associated with port congestion issues that resulted from a contentious dockworker labor contract dispute. Overall trade volumes across the United States were also better in 2015.
   On Wednesday, the SCPA board of directors adopted a fiscal year 2017 budget that includes 6 percent increase in the number of physical boxes lifted on and off ships (not a TEU measure) to 1.175 million containers from the projected 1.105 million boxes the port is expected to handle during its current fiscal year.
   In May, box volume dipped 2.1 percent from May 2015 to 177,865 TEUs.
   The SCPA said it also projects $226.1 million in revenues (up 7 percent from the current fiscal year projection of $211.8 million), $40.8 million in operating earnings and capital expenditures of $248 million in the upcoming fiscal year.
   The financial plan also anticipates strong growth at the inland port in Greer, with rail moves expected to increase 23 percent over fiscal year 2016 projected totals.
   The board approved the highest capital plan in the SCPA’s history, with expenditures projected $82.4 million higher than fiscal year 2016. SCPA will invest $93.7 million in site development and related expenses for construction of the Hugh Leatherman container terminal, expected to open in late 2019. Other primary capital expenditures planned include $78.9 million in upgrades to the Wando Welch Terminal, $16 million in surface improvements to the Columbus Street Terminal and $5.1 million for the development of a second inland port in Dillon. 
   “Our volumes this fiscal year have flattened when compared to FY2015, and although we expect growth to continue to keep pace above the U.S. port market average, the plan for FY2017 reflects modest increases in pier container volumes,” SCPA President Jim Newsome said in a statement. “We currently handle 11 weekly post-Panamax vessel calls and expect FY2017 to be marked by an increased frequency of big ship calls once the Panama Canal expansion opens and multiple services upgrade the size of vessels deployed to Charleston.”
   (For in-depth analysis of the the SCPA’s financial strategy, capital investment plans, harbor deepening progress and preparations for big ships, read the feature story “The Money Chase.” The latest developments at the Greer inland port can be found in the story, “Outsize growth for inland port.” Both articles can also be found in the May print and digital editions of American Shipper.)