SC Ports sees container volume growth for second consecutive month

South Carolina Ports (SC Ports) handled 240,857 TEUs in March, representing an 11% growth over the same month last year.

This is the second consecutive month of stronger container volumes, according to the SC Ports announcement.

Rail-served Inland Ports in Greer and Dillon also performed well last month. Inland Port Greer handled 19,291 rail moves, up 20% from last year, an all-time record for the Upstate inland port, which recently completed a significant expansion. Additionally, Inland Port Dillon continued to see growth with 3,287 rail moves in March, up 14% year-over-year.

Moreover, 20,483 vehicles passed through the Port of Charleston in March, which represents a 14% growth from last year.

“While we anticipate volume fluctuations amid economic uncertainties, we are encouraged to see stronger volumes across all our business segments,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin said.

With a key infrastructure project now complete, SC Ports’ busiest container terminal can once again handle three mega container ships simultaneously at any tide, providing expedited logistics and consistent fluidity for ocean carriers calling the Port of Charleston.

Wando Welch Terminal’s new toe wall — a new steel wall that runs along the terminal’s wharf — further strengthens the terminal to handle bigger ships and maintain deeper depths. Additional dredging in front of the terminal reinforces Charleston Harbor’s 52-foot-depth.

“With the deepest harbor on the U.S. East Coast and strategic port investments at our terminals, SC Ports can efficiently handle the biggest ships at any tide,” noted Melvin. “These investments save our customers time and money. Ocean carriers can access our terminals without waiting, and we provide highly productive port service.”

SC Ports’ engineering team managed the 14-month wharf toe wall project, with WSP USA leading design and Mead and Hunt overseeing construction.

Russell Marine LLC installed steel sheet piles underwater and buried them into the channel bottom to reinforce the existing slope underneath the wharf. Marinex Construction Inc. completed the berth deepening.

The toe wall project and dredging cost roughly US$23 million, with US$11.2 million coming from a 2019 USDOT Maritime Administration Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grant.

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