South Carolina Ports (SC Ports) has reported double-digit growth in container volumes during August, mainly driven by retail imports.
In particular, SC Ports handled 234,688TEU in total during August at Wando Welch Terminal, North Charleston Terminal and Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, representing an increase of 12% over the same period of 2020, achieving a new record for the month.
“The United States continues to see record import volumes as consumers spend more on retail goods than services during the pandemic,” stated the port, which saw its imports reached 114,671TEU, up by 18% over the previous August.
In addition, the ninth busiest container hup in the US has moved 479,509TEU during the period Janury – August, which translates to a growth of 24% in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year.
The traffic on pier containers which account for boxes of any size also saw a year-on-year rise of 12% in August, while during the fiscal year 2022, the US port has handled 267,887 pier boxes, marking a 24% increase.
“SC Ports planned well for this growth by investing more than US$2 billion in port infrastructure in recent years to handle rising cargo volumes and retail imports,” pointed out President and CEO of SC Ports, Jim Newsome.
“Phase One of Leatherman Terminal adds 700,000 TEU of capacity and an additional berth to the East Coast port market, and the three-berth Wando Welch Terminal works mega container ships every day,” noted Newsome.
As for the inland port activity, it remained steady in August, with 11,902 rail lifts reported at Inland Port Greer and 2,635 rail moves handled at Inland Port Dillon.
However, Newsome said the global supply chain is under tremendous stress due to disruptions from the pandemic and went on to add that “the slowdown in cargo velocity that we are currently experiencing due to a number of supply chain constraints is concerning as we head into the peak season this fall.”
