Container traffic through the Port of Charleston in October fell 6.3 percent year-over-year and dropped 9.1 percent from September.
The port saw container traffic fall to 113,650 20-foot equivalent units, while non-container traffic rose 58 percent year-over-year to 42,163 tons. The South Carolina Ports Authority said container traffic in September, up 13 percent year-over-year, was more an outlier than an indicator of an upward trend.
“While some lingering questions remain about economic strength in the near term, our ports’ fundamentals and prospects for growth are very strong,” said South Carolina Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsom.
He said the port is enhancing its facilities, building inland infrastructure and boosting non-container business. The port also expects to gain traffic through the construction of two nearby plants.
Continental Tire last month announced its plans to build a new $500 million plant, which will employ 1,700 people. And Bridgestone broke ground this month on a $1.2 billion, 1.5 million-square-foot plant, which will create 850 jobs.
The Journal of Commerce Online
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