Rail movements can be just as important for the South Carolina Port Authority as those on the water, so SCPA can raise a glass for the January record at Inland Port Greer.
Inland Port Greer, SCPA’s rail port in northern South Carolina, recorded 13,401 rail movements, its best January and an increase of 16% year on year.
Container volumes also increased in January. South Carolina ports handled 216,265 units equivalent to twenty feet (TEUs) at the Wando Welch and North Charleston container terminals, compared to 211,020 TEUs in January 2020, an increase of 2.5% year-over-year.
From July 1, when the SCPA fiscal year began, until January 31, the ports handled more than 1.43 million TEUs. That’s less than 1% – 9,745 TEUs – of the 1,439,790 TEUs handled in the same period in 2019-20.
So far in the fiscal year, the Port of Charleston has handled 147,936 vehicles, almost 13% more than in the same period last fiscal year. SCPA said 12,189 vehicles passed its docks at the Columbus Street Terminal in January. That number decreased from 15,577 vehicles handled in January 2020.
Inland Port Dillon, the internal rail port in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina, which recorded 2,870 rail movements in January also fell, down from 3,237 in 2020.
South Carolina Ports already broke good news in February. Last week, it was announced that The Keith Corp. had opened the largest speculative industrial facility ever built in the Charleston region – a more than 1 million square foot cross-dock building at the Charleston Trade Center in Summerville, South Carolina, about 30 miles from Charleston Harbor.
According to an SCPA announcement, the facility “was specifically designed to capture door dependent users with features that include 40ft headroom, 120 fully equipped dock doors, two drive-in doors, ESFR fire protection, LED lighting and expanding parking for cars and trailers. The project site is located on the 62.32-acre front of the Charleston Trade Center, which is highly visible from Interstate 26. ”
The facility is projected to open in the fourth quarter of this year.
“Industrial tenants can benefit from this modern facility located in a very attractive real estate market, as well as the proximity to the state-of-the-art Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, which will soon start container operations,” said Micah Mallace, Senior Vice President South Carolina Ports marketing and sales team in a statement. “South Carolina Ports is excited to be partnering in marketing efforts for this building with The Keith Corp., which has extensive experience in the development of industrial facilities in Charleston. We look forward to welcoming port-dependent tenants into the building later this year. “
The first $ 1 billion phase of the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, which will open in March, includes a 1,400-foot pier, five 169-foot-high ship-to-shore cranes above the pier deck, 25 hybrid gantries with rubber tire cranes and a 47-acre container yard.
The new industrial facility will join four existing buildings also developed by The Keith Corp. on the Charleston Trade Center campus: IFA, a German automotive supplier; RPM, importer of coffee beans; Curtiss-Wright, a manufacturer of diversified products; and a fully leased 136,500 square foot multi-tenant building.
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