Charleston box volume up 12%

   The South Carolina Ports Authority said Tuesday that container traffic at the Port of Charleston increased 11.9 percent to 125,780 TEUs in November from November, 2011.
   Charleston’s container volume of 1.26 million TEUs year-to-date is 9 percent above the 2011 level.
   “While we are slightly off of aggressive projections set for the year thus far, Charleston continues to grow at a much faster rate than competing ports,” Port Director Jim Newsome said.
   The Port of Virginia’s box volume is up 8.9 percent through the first 11 months of the year to 1.92 million TEUs. Traffic at the Port of Jacksonville during the same period is down 4 percent to 403,504 TEUs. Through October, volume has grown less than 1 percent (2.52 million TEUs) at the Port of Savannah. 
   “With global economic uncertainty on the horizon, we will continue to operate in the fiscally conservative way we have, which has kept intact our stable outlook and solid position from the ratings agencies,” Newsome said.    
   This month, Moody’s Investors Service affirmed the SCPA’s A1 rating on its existing bond debt based on the port’s growth outlook and capital improvement program.
   The SCPA also reported breakbulk tonnage increased almost 24 percent to 117,118 pier tons at the ports of Charleston and Georgetown. 
   The port authority’s board on Tuesday also authorized port officials to borrow up to $30 million for the development, construction, operation and maintenance of an inland port in Greer, S.C. The facility will serve as an inland container yard served by the Norfolk Southern Railway, relieving upstate shippers and those in neighboring states from sending trucks all the way to Charleston. Engineering work is already underway and the facility is expected to be fully operational by the fall of 2013. – Eric Kulisch