Inland port rail moves pumped up quarterly volume for S.C. authority

In the first-quarter of its fiscal-year 2016, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) logged 520,276 20-foot equivalent units, up 1.4 percent compared with the same FY2015 period.

Rail volume at Inland Port Greer increased 18.6 percent during the quarter — which ended Sept. 30 — to 26,216 rail moves. In September, the facility handled 9,521 rail moves, a new monthly rail volume record. The inland port is served by Norfolk Southern Railway.

Also in the quarter, SCPA’s ports handled 293,275 containers at the North Charleston and Wando Welch terminals. Non-containerized cargo volume exceeded the quarter’s projection by 11.8 percent, with the Port of Charleston handling 217,533 breakbulk tons between July and September, SCPA officials said in a press release.

"Loaded container volume, particularly on the import side, supported [our] growth for the first quarter of the fiscal year," said SCPA President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Newsome. "We also saw strong volumes on the breakbulk side of our business relative to plan.”