Charleston TEU growth tapers off in January

The sluggish export market means the Port of Charleston could see flat growth for the next few months, according to Port Director Jim Newsome.    January container volumes slumped 5 percent year-over-year in January at the Port of Charleston to 145,092 TEUs, but the port has seen volumes rise 4.5 percent since the start of the fiscal year in July, the South Carolina Ports Authority said Wednesday.
   The state agency said equaling last year’s mark was a difficult comparison because growth in January 2015 shot up 18 percent. Although Charleston is more oriented to manufactured goods, it did pick up some of the slack from West Coast cargo diversion due to the port labor slowdown a year ago. West Coast ports are now operating at more normal levels and many shippers have resumed West Coast routings.
   Charleston is also equally balanced with exports, which have taken a hit with the strong U.S. dollar and economic weakness in many overseas markets.
   Nonetheless, the state set a record for total export sales for the sixth consecutive year, according to U.S. Department of Commerce data. Exports increased 4 percent from 2014 to $30.9 billion, including services.
   South Carolina is the 15th largest export state in the nation, and leads in categories such as lawn mowers, tires, finished passenger vehicles and ball bearings.
   In the past seven months, the ninth largest container port in the nation has handled 1.12 million TEUs compared to 1.07 million during the same period last year. Pier container volumes – representing lifts irrespective of container size – are up 3.1 percent year-over-year to 633,167 boxes moved.
   Charleston’s volumes will likely remain flat through the spring, Port Director Jim Newsome said.
   Breakbulk volume for Charleston and the Port of Georgetown reached 727,360 tons for the seven-month period, slightly ahead of plan, the SCPA said.
   Meanwhile, the South Carolina Inland Port in Greer continues to grow its cargo throughput as well. In January, it moved 7,457 containers, up from 5,068 in January 2015. For the fiscal year, Inland Port volumes are up 63 percent, with 49,588 moves completed since July. Norfolk, Va.-based railway Norfolk Southern operates a daily shuttle between Charleston and Greer.