April box volumes up 10.8% at Port of Charleston

Container business increased up 13.9% for first 10 months of fiscal 2015 compared to the same period the previous year.    Container volumes at the Port of Charleston increased 10.8 percent to 168,182 TEUs in April 2015 compared to April 2014, continuing a strong post-recession rebound that has accelerated in the past couple of years.
   Since the start of the fiscal 2015 year last July, container volume is up 13.9 percent to 1.6 million standard shipping units. Calendar year-to-date, volumes are up 15 percent versus the same period in 2014.
   Actual container lifts, the basis on which terminals generate revenue, are up 15 percent for the fiscal year to 900,000 containers of all sizes.
   The South Carolina Ports Authority also said that its inland port in Greer handled a record number of rail moves, with 5,513 moves completed in April. Fiscal year-to-date, the facility has handled 45,826 rail lifts.
   Charleston is benefiting from some diversion of cargo from companies seeking faster clearance than at West Coast ports, but much of its growth is organic due to its large base of industrial and agriculture users, many of whom are exporters.
   Port Authority CEO Jim Newsome has set a stretch goal of making Charleston the number five container port in the United States by 2020, up from ninth today.
   Business is booming at Southeast ports because of the West Coast port problems. The Port of Savannah recently reported that container volume jumped 25.8 percent in April.