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Charleston, SC - On the heels of a 10 percent increase in container volume last month, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) Board today approved the most aggressive investment plan in the agency’s 70-year history, underscoring the anticipated growth of South Carolina’s ports from big ship traffic, the expansion of the Panama Canal and increased exports from the region.

During its regular monthly meeting, the Board approved the SCPA’s budget for the 2013 fiscal year, which begins July 1. The plan projects an eight percent increase in container volume and $146.9 million in capital spending on major investments such as the construction of the new Navy Base Terminal and upgrades to facility infrastructure and information systems.

“This aggressive investment plan for our ports mirrors the significant investment of our state toward realizing the Charleston Harbor Deepening Project,” said SCPA Chairman Bill Stern, referring to the $180 million budget allocation approved by both houses of the South Carolina legislature this session. An additional $120 million toward the deepening project’s construction is being considered by the budget conference committee.

Stern continued, “In making these commitments to our port infrastructure, we are ensuring that South Carolina has the tools to spur the economic growth and job creation that comes with having world-class port facilities.”

“We continue to challenge our organization to grow above the market,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the SCPA. “The aggressive projections for our business growth reflect our belief that deep water will drive port selection by cargo interests.”

Also included in the FY2013 budget is a six percent planned increase in breakbulk and non-containerized cargo at South Carolina’s public seaports. Breakbulk tonnage has been a major growth factor for the SCPA, buoyed by the completed $23-million project to transform Columbus Street Terminal into a premier ro-ro, breakbulk and project cargo facility. The terminal handles cargoes such as BMW vehicle exports as well as heavy lift moves for the power generation industry.

Furthermore, the budget plan calls for an increase in personnel, with the addition of nine jobs in the operations and maintenance areas during the next 12 months.

Volume Results & Approved Projects

The Board also discussed during the meeting the port system’s current business climate. May’s container volume of 132,498 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) was a nearly 10 percent gain over the same month last year.

In the 2012 fiscal year to date (from July 2011 to May 2012), TEU volume in the Port of Charleston was up 3.4 percent from the previous year while pier tons of non-containerized cargo in Charleston and Georgetown climbed 43.1 percent.

In other business, the SCPA Board approved a $2 million paving and container yard improvement project for North Charleston Terminal, to be completed by Banks Construction Co. The Board also authorized a contract related to electrical upgrades needed at that facility to replace four older dockside container cranes with four new cranes, which the SCPA plans to purchase within the next year.

Additionally, the Board approved a resolution authorizing the SCPA, as Grantee, to apply to reorganize Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) No. 21 under an alternative site framework. This reorganization would increase the FTZ service area along the coast and broaden the benefits to both new and existing companies using the program. The SCPA serves as Grantee of the FTZ program for FTZ No. 21 along the South Carolina coast and FTZ No. 38 in the Upstate.

About the South Carolina State Ports Authority
The South Carolina State Ports Authority, established by the state's General Assembly in 1942, owns and operates public seaport facilities in Charleston and Georgetown, handling international commerce valued at more than $58 billion annually while receiving no direct taxpayer subsidy.  An economic development engine for the state, port operations facilitate 260,800 jobs across South Carolina and nearly $45 billion in economic activity each year.  For more information, visit www.scspa.com.

Charleston, SC - Container volume in the Port of Charleston rose nearly 8 percent last month over 2011 levels, in results announced during the South Carolina Ports Authority’s (SCPA) Board meeting earlier today.

In April, the SCPA handled 123,439 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the Port of Charleston, the strongest April seen at the port since 2008 and a 7.7 percent increase from the same month last year. Containerized traffic in TEUs for the 10 months comprising the fiscal year to date (June through April) is up 2.7 percent from the same period last year while container volume for the calendar year to date (January through April) increased 7.3 percent over 2011 levels.

SCPA President and CEO Jim Newsome described that two new, weekly container services connecting the Port of Charleston to markets in Asia, including the first direct Vietnam call for the port, will begin in June.

The SCPA’s non-containerized cargo continued its upward trend, with breakbulk tonnage in the Port of Charleston up 57 percent with for the month of April and up nearly 24 percent in the fiscal year to date.

In the Port of Georgetown, pier tons were fairly flat in April compared to the same month last year, but activity there has more than doubled in the fiscal year to date.

Newsome also provided the Board an update on Charleston’s harbor deepening project, describing that he is “extremely pleased” with recent progress.

“This project has a high degree of recognition,” he said. “We are in a time when the urgency of improving ports and harbors is understood by all levels of leadership.”

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee last month retained $3.55 million in funding allocated to the deepening project’s feasibility study through the Administration’s budget for fiscal year 2013, which begins in October.

In the state legislature, the South Carolina House of Representatives has set aside $180 million in non-recurring funds for the harbor deepening construction as part of the state budget, currently under review in the Senate. This allocation would cover the state’s 60 percent share of the estimated $300 million cost for construction. Last month, the South Carolina Senate passed a bill authorizing the state to borrow up to $120 million to complete the project if federal funds are not available.

Charleston, SC - The New World Alliance consortium of ocean carriers and Evergreen are launching a new Far East weekly container service in June, marking the third new container service announced this year for Charleston and the first service for the port with a direct call in Vietnam.

The SVS (South China/Vietnam-US Southeast) service is a Suez service deploying 10 ships of capacity between 4,600 and 5,600 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs). The service originates in Cai Mep, Vietnam and includes calls in Hong Kong and Yantian in China, Singapore and Algeciras, Spain.

Significantly, Charleston is the last port outbound on the service, which highlights the port’s prominence in handling the region’s and the nation’s export demand.

“Charleston’s position in this service demonstrates that ships will be taking on a significant amount of cargo here, relying on our deep water to fill up the ship with heavy exports,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority.

Charleston Harbor is the deepest in the Southeast region, with 45 feet of depth at mean low water (MLW), and can handle ships drafting up to 48 feet on the tides. Charleston’s next harbor deepening project is currently underway.

Participating in the SVS service are the alliance carriers of APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), as well as Evergreen. The weekly service will call the Port of Charleston’s Wando Welch Terminal on Saturdays, adding 52 ship calls a year to the port and supporting jobs across the maritime industry.

About the South Carolina Ports Authority
The South Carolina Ports Authority, established by the state's General Assembly in 1942, owns and operates public seaport facilities in Charleston and Georgetown, handling international commerce valued at more than $58 billion annually while receiving no direct taxpayer subsidy.  An economic development engine for the state, port operations facilitate 260,800 jobs across South Carolina and nearly $45 billion in economic activity each year.  For more information, visit www.scspa.com.

Charleston, SC - The CKYH alliance of ocean carries has picked the Port of Charleston for a new, weekly container service with coverage across Northeast Asia.

The AWE-6 is a new service offering for the carrier group, which includes COSCO, K-Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin. Charleston is the last U.S. port call on the service, providing South Carolina exporters additional options to reach markets in Asia, which have demonstrated increasing demand for products from the U.S. Southeast.

“Exporters from this area are finding additional trade opportunities in Asia, and we have been heavily marketing the Port of Charleston for more shipping services in that trade lane,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority, which owns and operates the Port of Charleston. “Our state not only has goods that are attractive to overseas markets, but we are also ideally positioned to serve a broad import base across several states in the region.”

Shippers will be able to take advantage of direct trade routes to Yantian, Ningbo and Shanghai in China as well as Pusan, South Korea via the Panama Canal.

The carriers will deploy nine ships for the service, which will add 52 ship calls a year at North Charleston Terminal. The first Charleston call is expected around June 19.

About the South Carolina Ports Authority
The South Carolina Ports Authority, established by the state's General Assembly in 1942, owns and operates public seaport facilities in Charleston and Georgetown, handling international commerce valued at more than $58 billion annually while receiving no direct taxpayer subsidy.  An economic development engine for the state, port operations facilitate 260,800 jobs across South Carolina and nearly $45 billion in economic activity each year.  For more information, visit www.scspa.com.

Charleston, SC - Container volume in the Port of Charleston rose 12 percent in March, the strongest month for containerized traffic at the port since October 2008.

In results announced at today’s regular Board meeting, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) handled 134,857 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the Port of Charleston in March, up 12 percent from the same month last year and up 13 percent from February.

“We continue to work hard to grow our cargo volumes above the market and attract new shipping services to our ports,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the SCPA.

For the fiscal year to date (July through March), TEU volume is up just over two percent in Charleston, while container volume for the quarter (January through March) increased seven percent from the same quarter last year. A number of drivers, including a new Europe service with APL, were said to be drivers of this growth.

“There is no turning back on the big ship trend, and we’re seeing how harbor depth and access can influence carriers’ service decisions,” Newsome said, referring to Charleston’s deep shipping channels and post-45 harbor deepening project, which is currently underway.

At the same time, the SCPA’s non-containerized cargo figures remain strong, reflecting the agency’s cargo diversification strategy. The Port of Charleston handled 111,236 pier tons of non-containerized freight in March, up 53 percent from the same month last year.

BMW export vehicles and other roll-on/roll-off cargo handled at Charleston’s Columbus Street Terminal saw their best month since March 2008. The SCPA completed last year a $23-million improvement project at that terminal to support the growth of non-containerized cargo.

In the Port of Georgetown, pier tons were up 37 percent, with 34,119 tons handled across the docks. Petroleum coke and bulk cement continue to be the largest commodities handled at the port.

Charleston, SC - The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) is encouraging local truck owners to replace their older trucks with newer, cleaner rigs and is doubling the financial incentive for their participation. Eligible truck owners can now get a $10,000 incentive, plus the scrap value of their pre-1994 truck, to use toward the purchase of a 2004 or newer model.

There also will be a mobile office set up at the port's Wando Welch Terminal each week to make it even easier for truckers to learn more about the benefits of upgrading their rigs, such as improved fuel efficiency, lower maintenance costs and decreased air emissions.

Seaport Truck Air Cleanup Southeast, or STACS, is a voluntary truck replacement program launched last fall that provides truck owners who are frequent port users a financial incentive to replace pre-1994 model year trucks with 2004 or newer models.

The incentive for the program is funded by the SCPA, along with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) through an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant.

This is the first such truck replacement program in the region, making upgraded equipment attainable and financially viable for all truck owners, both companies and independent owner-operators. Twenty-four trucks already have been replaced in the local drayage fleet.

The program is being administered by Cascade Sierra Solutions, which has managed similar programs in other ports on the West Coast. Cascade Sierra Solutions' local office is at the SCPA's Columbus Street Terminal, and the company is establishing a mobile office at the Wando Welch Terminal once a week. The mobile office will offer regular hours of 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Tuesday, starting April 24.

According to a truck survey commissioned by the SCPA, about two percent of the trucks that frequent the Port of Charleston are 1993 or older model years. Based on EPA estimates, moving from 1993 or older trucks to 2004 or newer trucks reduces emissions by about 60 percent.

The STACS program is part of the SCPA's Pledge for Growth environmental program that has already helped fund $5 million in retrofits, upgrades and replacements to trucks, tugs and other port equipment.

About the South Carolina Ports Authority
The South Carolina State Ports Authority, established by the state's General Assembly in 1942, owns and operates public seaport facilities in Charleston and Georgetown, handling international commerce valued at more than $58 billion annually while receiving no direct taxpayer subsidy.  An economic development engine for the state, port operations facilitate 260,800 jobs across South Carolina and nearly $45 billion in economic activity each year.  For more information, visit www.scspa.com.

Charleston, SC - Container volume in the Port of Charleston rose 9.2 percent in February compared to the same month last year, in results announced today at the regular meeting of the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) Board of Directors.

Charleston handled 119,052 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last month, representing a 5.8 percent climb in container volume over the month of January, largely on the strength of loaded exports.

“We are experiencing a very balanced trade between import and export containers, which is a credit to the companies in South Carolina and across the Southeast that are competing well in the global marketplace,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the SCPA.

Additionally, Charleston was one of only two of the nation’s top 10 container ports that experienced a rise in inbound cargo in February, according to trade intelligence company Zepol Corporation.

Volume for the fiscal year to date (July 2011 through February 2012) remained relatively flat, with a 0.9 percent increase over the same period last fiscal year.

At the same time, the SCPA’s non-container business segment in Charleston and Georgetown showed double and triple-digit gains.

Breakbulk volume in Charleston, which totaled 62,680 tons, rose 41.9 percent last month over February 2011 while pier tons in the Port of Georgetown increased nearly fourfold to 74,083 pier tons. Total breakbulk volume last month at the two ports was more than double the volume handled February of last year.

With increased demand in the SCPA’s non-container business, the SCPA Board authorized the agency to proceed with contract negotiations with Charleston Heavy Lift on the construction of a new, barge-mounted heavy lift crane. The new crane would be used exclusively in the Port of Charleston in handling oversized and overweight project cargo across the docks, and the SCPA would contribute up to $2.5 million to the project for dedicated access over the life of the crane.

The SCPA completed approximately $23 million in upgrades to Columbus Street Terminal to handle its non-container business, including vehicles such as BMWs made in South Carolina and heavy project cargo requiring on-dock rail.

Additionally, the Board approved a $525,000 contract for maintenance berth dredging at Veterans Terminal, a 110-acre non-container facility at the Port of Charleston located on the former Navy Base site.

About the South Carolina Ports Authority:
The South Carolina Ports Authority, established by the state's General Assembly in 1942, owns and operates public seaport facilities in Charleston and Georgetown, handling international commerce valued at more than $58 billion annually while receiving no direct taxpayer subsidy.  An economic development engine for the state, port operations facilitate 260,800 jobs across South Carolina and nearly $45 billion in economic activity each year.  For more information, visit https://scspa.com.