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The S.C. State Ports Authority is teaming up with the region’s rail-served warehouses to change how cargo is moved from warehouses to cargo ships, which could help target specific export accounts for the Port of Charleston and cut down on truck traffic.
Staff Report
Published June 3, 2010
The S.C. State Ports Authority is teaming up with the region’s rail-served warehouses to change how cargo is moved from warehouses to cargo ships, which could help target specific export accounts for the Port of Charleston and cut down on truck traffic.
The new business development program aims to build new business through the port and 14 warehouses that are directly served by rail access using a process called transloading. The warehouses account for 2.7 million square feet of space in the Charleston area.
Transloading involves moving cargo on rail directly into these warehouses where equipment is used to containerize the cargo. Trucks then dray the containers from the warehouses to the port where they
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| S.C. State Ports Authority CEO Jim Newsome (right) talks to some of the warehouse partners that will participate in the SPA's new transloading program. (Photo/Andy Owens) |
are loaded onto ocean vessels. The SPA said this process can save the shipper transportation costs and provide environmental benefits with reduced emissions and truck traffic.
Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the ports authority, said in a news release that Charleston’s deep channels and rail-served warehouses are generating and meeting “significant export demand.”
“Through this new, collaborative program with some of the most innovative companies in the port community, we’re looking to build solutions for exporters while boosting port volume,” he said.
He said the program will cut down on emissions by taking heavy trucks off of the region’s highways. He said 20 warehouse and distribution companies that have this capability met with the S.C. State Ports Authority last week to gauge interest and how to implement the program.
“The idea is to let the cargo come here,” Newsome said during a break at the S.C. International Trade Conference on Wednesday. “I’m really excited about the prospects for this.”
In April, Charleston’s loaded exports increased 36% year-over-year and were up 6% from March. Exports in the Port of Charleston have risen sharply recently, a result of a recovering global economy, a weak dollar and increased demand for the products used to make or package import goods, port officials say.
The rail-served warehouses have diverse cargo handling capabilities. Norfolk Southern and CSX serve the sites individually or together. Commodities such as cotton, lumber, woodpulp and food products are suited to transloading, which tend to be heavier cargoes.
The partners in the project are:
ATS Warehouse
Blackhawk Warehouse
Brown Distribution
Dixie Box and Crating Inc.
Garnet Logistics
Maybank Properties (two locations)
Neal Brothers
Pax Azalea Warehouse
Pax Goer Warehouse
Premier Logistics Solutions Warehousing LLC
Schneider Logistics
Sunland Distribution
Trans-Hold Inc.
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