CEO Highlights Strong Progres at South Carolina Ports Authority

Business growth and major progress on such projects as Charleston's harbor deepening and the inland port were cited in the State-of-the-Port Address by South Carolina Ports Authority CEO Jim Newsome. Newsome said the port had its strongest quarter (July-September) for container volume in four years, while non-container tonnage at both Charleston and Georgetown also has been on the rise. The industry trend with the biggest impact on Charleston, he said, is the development of very large container ships, those larger than 7,500 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of capacity. He said the Port of Charleston is already handling ships that size and larger. To support the expected surge of post-Panamax ship traffic, a post-45-foot deepening project is underway in Charleston, and Newsome said progress on that has been "remarkable." Newsome also highlighted the progress on the SCPA's inland port project with Norfolk Southern in Greer, S.C., and said SCPA is working with CSX on rail initiatives to boost the port's business.