South Carolina Ports (SC Ports) has achieved a monthly record for September by moving more than 205,000TEU at its container terminals Wando Welch, North Charleston and Hugh K. Leatherman.
SC Ports believes that this number, which translates to an increase of 5% over the same month of 2021, is mainly driven by retail imports.
During September, SC Ports has also achieved a record for import volumes, handling loaded boxes of 98,208TEU, an increase of 9% compared to last September, while exports saw a slight boost of 2%, reaching 61,705TEU.
“US consumers continue to spend more on retail goods during the pandemic, spurring record volumes since March and consistently strong retail imports,” explained the port authority.
In addition, the total container throughput at SC Ports for the fiscal year 2022 year-to-date, exceeded 684,500TEU, showing a rise of nearly 18% from the corresponding period of the previous year.
“SC Ports kicks off the fiscal year 2022 with a record first quarter, while the Port of Charleston is handling more retail goods, home goods, furniture, appliances and electronics than ever before,” said SC Ports President and CEO, Jim Newsome.
Furthermore, the nine-busiest port in the US handled 113,486 pier containers in September which account for boxes of any size, representing an increase of 5% from last year. As for the fiscal year 2022, the port moved 381,373 pier boxes, achieving a year on year growth of 18%.
Regarding the rail volumes, SC Ports has also registered a record for September, marking 13,064 rail moves in the Inland Port Greer and 2,133 rail moves in Inland Port Dillon.
“As the slowdown in cargo velocity is felt throughout the global supply chain, SC Ports remains focused on providing customised solutions and efficient operations to keep freight moving,” noted Newsome.
