SC Ports Reports Record Cargo Volumes

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) reported another successful year, handling record cargo volumes, rail moves and inland port activity in fiscal year 2019.

SPCA, which owns and operates public seaport facilities in Charleston and Georgetown, as well as Inland Ports in Greer, South Carolina and Dillon, South Carolina, handled nearly 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) from July 2018 through June 30, an 8.8% increase in annual TEU container volume.

SCPA moved 200,406 TEUs across the  Wando Welchopens in a new window and North Charlestonopens in a new window container terminals last month.

As measured by the total number of boxes handled, SCPA moved 112,988 pier containers in June for a total of 1.364 million pier containers annually, up 9.1%.

Inland Port Greeropens in a new window, now in its sixth year of operation, reported its busiest fiscal year yet with 143,204 rail moves in fiscal 2019, up nearly 22% from the prior year. Inland Port Greer reported 14,689 rail moves last month.

In its first full year of business, Inland Port Dillonopens in a new window  handled around 30,000 rail moves in fiscal 2019.

SCPA’s RapidRail programopens in a new window, which provides a seamless connection between rail yards and marine terminals, saw a record year with more than 330,000 rail moves in fiscal 2019. The port now handles 24% of containerized volumes by intermodal container rail — the highest annual percentage in Port history.

“I am immensely proud of SCPA’s historic achievements during fiscal year 2019. Our container business handled a record amount of cargo, our inland ports in Greer and Dillon both had strong growth year-over-year and our rail program moved more cargo than ever before,” S.C. Ports Authority CEO Jim Newsome said. “As we head into fiscal 2020, we will continue investing in our infrastructure to handle growth, as well as supporting our employees and the entire maritime community who make these significant achievements possible.”

The Port handled 18,307 vehicles at  Columbus Street Terminalopens in a new window  in June for a total of 194,771 vehicles in fiscal 2019. Total breakbulk cargo was 625,323 pier tons for the fiscal year.

SCPA saw a total of 213,081 cruise passengers and 1,696 ships docked in fiscal 2019.