Port of Charleston Sets Container Volume Record in 2016
The Port of Charleston set a new record for container traffic in 2016, the South Carolina Ports Authority announced Jan.9.
Final numbers for 2016 show that longshoremen handled just shy of 2 million industry-standard 20-foot-equivalent units, or TEUs, for the year, up 1.2% versus 2015. The tally was also a new port record, narrowly beating the 2005 record by about 11,000.
Loaded container volume was up 4% year-over-year while empty volume was down 10%.
"This is a significant accomplishment for the SCPA of which we are very proud," said Jim Newsome, SCPA president. "We are cautiously optimistic about the future given the significant automotive projects that exist in the Southeast along with the seeming recovery of emerging market economies, which drives U.S. exports."
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Daniel Hackett, a consultant with Hackett Associates, told Transport Topics on Jan. 9 that he expected the aggregate container volume results in North America to increase about 2%. He also expects 2017 to be slightly stronger with up to 3% container growth, although he added that those don't account for any positive or negative political developments from the new administration on international trade or infrastructure spending.
"Our focus is squarely on realizing ongoing enhancements to handle the significant deployment of big containerships, specifically refurbishing our wharves, raising our cranes, deepening our harbor as soon as possible," Newsome added.
With the Panama Canal expansion last year, vessels up to about 13,000 TEUs can cross the waterway, but some experts at the 98th Transportation Research Board Conference in Washington D.C. have cautioned that the larger containerships may not call the East Coast with significant frequency until the Port of New York-New Jersey raises the Bayonne Bridge clearance to allow those ships to clear.
The South Carolina Inland Port Greer handled a record 103,639 rail lifts in 2016, an increase of 38% more than the previous calendar year.
