The SC Inland Port at Greer handled 8,623 rail moves in February, a 9% increase over its previous highest monthly volume. Fiscal year-to-date rail moves at the terminal through February increased about 66%, with 58,211 moves since July 1, an S.C. State Ports Authority statement said.
The previously monthly high at the rail-truck terminal since its November 2013 opening was 7,824 rail moves in December.
Overall, the self-supporting Charleston-based agency reported a 4.4% gain in container volume in its fiscal year-over-year growth through February.
The agency’s volume of 20-foot equivalent units in February increased by 3.3%, up to 157,962, compared with a year ago. Through the first eight months of the fiscal year, container volume reached about 1.28 million 20-foot equivalent units, compared with 1.23 million during the same period last year.
Pier container volume, or boxes handled, totaled 88,643 containers in February, up from 86,258 boxes a year earlier, the statement said. Fiscal year to date, 721,810 total containers have moved across the docks of the two container terminals, a 3.02% increase from the 700,630 containers in the same period last year.
Jim Newsome, the agency president and CEO, said February volumes “showed modest increases over last year, and we expect continued moderate upticks in our volumes through the spring.”
Charleston in February handled 66,819 pier tons of noncontainerized cargo and boosted the fiscal year-to-date total to 799,687 pier tons, almost 31% ahead of plan.
The agency owns and operates public seaport facilities in Charleston, Georgetown and Greer. Port operations are linked to 187,200 jobs statewide and generate about $53 billion annually in economic activity.