S.C. port authority exceeds fiscal year revenue projection

The Port of Charleston also continued its above-market growth for containers in July.    The South Carolina Ports Authority on Wednesday reported a doubling of profits for the fiscal year ended June 30 and started the new fiscal year with another month of double-digit growth in container volumes.
   The Port of Charleston handled 175,223 TEUs in July, a 14 percent increase over the same month a year ago. Calendar year-to-date, box volumes are up 14.2 percent over the same period a year ago with 1.17 million TEUs handled since January, port officials reported at the state agency’s monthly board meeting.
   Measured in pier containers – the physical number of containers moved regardless of size that determines handling fees received by the port – Charleston moved almost 100,000 containers for a gain of 12.8 percent above July 2014.
   The South Carolina Inland Port in Greer set a record in July with 7,567 moves completed during the month. The facility has been open less than two years and has already exceeded volume projections. During its first full fiscal year in operation it handled 58,407 rail moves. To meet growing demand at the Upstate facility, the board approved the transfer of three rubber-tired gantry cranes from the Wando Welch Terminal in Charleston.
   Breakbulk business also grew in July, according to the port authority. Charleston handled 83,440 tons, 48 percent higher than planned, while the Port of Georgetown handled 80,500 tons of non-containerized goods.
   The South Carolina Ports Authority continued its financial turnaround from the depths of the recession, posting operating earnings of $30.4 million compared to $14.3 million the prior fiscal year. Revenues grew $32 million to $196.8 million, $23 million above budget estimates.
   Before the recession South Carolina earned on the order of $50 million per year from its ports.
   On a fiscal-year basis, container volume growth last year was 14 percent to 1.9 million TEUs. 
   “With 14 percent container volume growth and operating cash flow well above plan, the SCPA is well-positioned to continue moving forward with key strategic projects and above-market growth,” CEO Jim Newsome said in a statement.
   Upgrading the Wando Welch Terminal is part of the state’s $2 billion capital plan for the port, two-thirds of which is funded by the port authority. On Wednesday, the board awarded construction contracts for the $85 million Wando Welch project and the expansion of the refrigerated cargo yard at the North Charleston Terminal.
   Improvements at Wando Welch include strengthening the wharf piling structure to support bigger, heavier ship-to-shore cranes and withstand pressure from big ships; paving; replacing gantry rails with wider gauge tracks for wide-span cranes; modifying wheel surfaces on existing cranes to fit the new tracks; and other repairs.