Charleston box traffic up 17.6 percent
The Port of Charleston’s container traffic in September increased 8.9 percent from August and was up 17.6 percent year-over-year, the Journal of Commerce reports.
Charleston handled 125,032 20-foot equivalent container units in September. The port’s container volume for the first quarter of its fiscal year ended Sept. 30 totaled 353,368 TEUs, the strongest quarter for the port since the fourth quarter of 2008.
“Exports are driving growth and there are good signs out there for outbound growth, yet it’s still a little unclear how far yet it’s still a little unclear how far and fast the economy will go in the near-term,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority.
The SCPA said non-container cargo is growing rapidly at the port as the $23 million improvement project at the Columbus Street Terminal nears completion.
The first major phase of the project to improve the storage yard and enhance rail infrastructure at the terminal was finished in March. In the seven months from March through September, the Columbus Street Terminal’s non-container cargo totaled 362,952 tons, a six-fold increase from 52,781 tons last year.
The Columbus Street Terminal’s vehicle count for the seven-month period totaled 112,161 autos, a 90 percent increase from the 58,856 autos that moved through the terminal during the same period in 2010.
Driven largely by the growth at Columbus Street, total breakbulk tonnage in the Port of Charleston increased nearly 80 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year, ended Sept. 30. The SCPA handled 234,232 pier tons of breakbulk and bulk cargo at its terminals in Charleston from July to September, up from 130,226 tons in the same period in 2010.
Charleston handled 125,032 20-foot equivalent container units in September. The port’s container volume for the first quarter of its fiscal year ended Sept. 30 totaled 353,368 TEUs, the strongest quarter for the port since the fourth quarter of 2008.
“Exports are driving growth and there are good signs out there for outbound growth, yet it’s still a little unclear how far yet it’s still a little unclear how far and fast the economy will go in the near-term,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority.
The SCPA said non-container cargo is growing rapidly at the port as the $23 million improvement project at the Columbus Street Terminal nears completion.
The first major phase of the project to improve the storage yard and enhance rail infrastructure at the terminal was finished in March. In the seven months from March through September, the Columbus Street Terminal’s non-container cargo totaled 362,952 tons, a six-fold increase from 52,781 tons last year.
The Columbus Street Terminal’s vehicle count for the seven-month period totaled 112,161 autos, a 90 percent increase from the 58,856 autos that moved through the terminal during the same period in 2010.
Driven largely by the growth at Columbus Street, total breakbulk tonnage in the Port of Charleston increased nearly 80 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year, ended Sept. 30. The SCPA handled 234,232 pier tons of breakbulk and bulk cargo at its terminals in Charleston from July to September, up from 130,226 tons in the same period in 2010.
In the calendar year through September, breakbulk tonnage was up 39 percent, with 609,674 tons handled in 2011 and 438,344 tons in 2010.