SCPA’s container volumes rise 9% in 2017

In addition to handling a record 2.2 million TEUs in 2017, South Carolina Ports Authority has various projects underway, some of which will be completed in 2018.    South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) handled 2.2 million TEUs in 2017, up 9 percent from record 2016 levels, the port authority reported Wednesday.
   Inland Port Greer handled 124,817 rail moves in 2017, up 20.4 percent from its 2016 volumes record of 103,639 rail moves.
   In December alone, SCPA handled 182,884 TEUs, an 11.2 percent boost from December 2016.
   “We expect to see continued strength, albeit slightly more modest, into 2018 with growth in the emerging market economies as a key factor in sustaining the positive outlook,” SCPA President and CEO Jim Newsome said.
   SCPA has various projects in the works, including:
     • Inland Port Dillon, scheduled to open in April;
     • The final phase of the Wando Terminal Wharf Strengthening Project, scheduled to be completed this spring, in conjunction with the delivery of two new ship-to-shore cranes;
     • The new 84,000-square-foot SCPA headquarters building in Mount Pleasant, S.C., scheduled to open in December;
     • Phase one of a new container terminal, dubbed the Leatherman Terminal, scheduled to open in 2020;
     • And significant completion of the Charleston harbor deepening project expected by the end of 2020.
   Overall, the Port of Charleston is currently called by 31 liner services that also sail to regions outside North America, according to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting’s Port Dashboard tool. Twenty-six of those loops deploy fully cellular containerships, while the remaining five deploy roll-on/roll-off vessels or pure car/truck carriers.