CSX-served Inland Port Dillon opens in South Carolina

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) yesterday officially opened the new Inland Port Dillon, the authority's second inland facility to handle intermodal rail cargo.

Inland Port Dillon uses an existing CSX intermodal train service to handle container movements to and from the Port of Charleston's seaport facilities, authority officials said in a press release.

Inland Port Dillon is expected to convert an estimated 45,000 container movements from truck to rail in the first year of operation.

The new inland port is located within the Carolinas' Interstate-95 Mega Site and close to I-95. The area is central to a significant base of existing Port users, including Harbor Freight Tools, that represent base cargo opportunities for the facility, SCPA officials said.

"The addition of Inland Port Dillon to the port's network diversifies our reach and enables port users to gain logistics efficiencies through rail transportation of their cargo," said SCPA President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Newsome.

The facility will handle the growing volume of container cargo traveling to and from the Port of Charleston via intermodal rail, which has increased 180 percent since 2011. Today, nearly 25 percent of the port's container volume moves by rail.

"We are confident that the Inland Port will promote economic development in the region and increase the competitiveness of the Port of Charleston and businesses throughout the State of South Carolina," said CSX Vice President of Intermodal Dean Piacente.

SCPA opened its first inland facility, Inland Port Greer, in the upstate region of South Carolina in November 2013. Served by Norfolk Southern Railway, Inland Port Greer handled a record 124,817 rail moves in calendar year 2017, an increase of 20 percent over the previous year.