South Carolina bucks US port trend amid COVID-19 pandemic

South Carolina Ports Authority (S.C Ports) broke its February traffic record last month, bucking the trend for US gateways, the majority of which have seen throughput fall amid the COVOD-19, or coronavirus, pandemic.

In a statement, S.C Ports said it moved 197,214 TEU across the Wando Welch and North Charleston container terminals.

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That figure means it has handled approximately 1.64 million TEU so far in fiscal year 2020, which in turn represents a 4% increase on the same time 12 months ago.

As measured by the total number of boxes handled, SC Ports moved 110,927 pier containers in February. It has handled 924,526 pier containers in fiscal year 2020.

Loaded export TEUs were up nearly 20% and loaded import TEUs were up about 14% over last February, both of which are record levels for that month.

SC Ports also saw an increase of 18% year-on-year at its two rail-served inland terminals – Inland Port Greer and Inland Port Dillon, which recorded 13,749 and 3,068 rail moves in February respectively.

“S.C. Ports had a very strong February in multiple business segments. These volumes are bright spots amid much uncertainty in the global market,” S.C. Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsome said.

“S.C. Ports is operating normally and working with the entire maritime community to ensure supply chains remain functional.

“The Port provides an essential service, helping to move vital goods to people and businesses throughout the Southeast and beyond.”

SC Ports is one of the few US ports to have not seen its traffic fall substantially during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have both seen their traffic fall dramatically since the start of the year as trade with China and other parts of southeast Asia has collapsed.

https://www.porttechnology.org/news/south-carolina-bucks-us-port-trend-amid-covid-19-pandemic/