Charleston container throughput up 13 percent in July-September
The first quarter of the fiscal year (July-September) was the strongest quarter for Charleston container volume in four years with 400,492 TEUs handled by the US East Coast port, a 13.3 percent gain over the same period last year, Cargonews Asia reports.
Container volume for the calendar year to date was up 9.4 percent. September container volume in Charleston continued to show year-over-year growth with the port handling 131,686 last month, up 5.3 percent.
Breakbulk volume at the port surged to its highest quarter in more than two decades, with 302,611 pier tonnes handled in the July to September quarter.
Non-container tonnage across the SCPA during the first quarter of the fiscal year was up 27.6 percent over the same period in 2011, with 442,848 pier tonnes recorded at the ports of Charleston and Georgetown. In September, the SCPA handled 159,476 tonnes of non-containerised cargo at the two ports.
“These gains are significant as they come in the face of a tepid global economy," said said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the port authority.
"The port will need to continue to expand its cargo base to make further progress."
