South Carolina Container Volume Up 7%
New economic study attributes 1 in 12 Midlands jobs to Port operations
The South Carolina Ports Authority announced a fiscal year-to-date container volume increase of seven percent, with 678,033 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled since July.
SCPA moved 164,734 TEUs in October. From a calendar year-to-date perspective, SCPA has seen container volume increase 11 percent over last year with 1,674,891 TEUs handled since January.
As measured in pier containers, 93,046 boxes moved across SCPA docks last month. Fiscal year to date, SCPA has handled 382,656 pier containers for an increase of six percent over the same period last year.
Non-containerized cargo tonnage also continued to climb through October, with fiscal year-to-date volumes 19 percent ahead of plan. Charleston handled 96,258 pier tons last month, pushing total Charleston breakbulk volume to 334,122 total tons moved since July. Georgetown handled 30,773 pier tons in October for a total of 149,654 tons moved fiscal year to date.
The Inland Port handled 6,128 rail lifts in October. Fiscal year to date, rail lifts at the facility are nearly 60 percent ahead of last year with 28,231 moves since July.
"SCPA's moderate volume growth is reflective of broad-based strength across a number of market segments," said SCPA president and CEO Jim Newsome. "As expected, the slowing of our year-over-year volumes reflect the strong comparisons against FY2015 performance and an overall tepid group of emerging market economies."
SVP External Affairs Announced
SCPA also announced former Maersk Group executive Clint Eisenhauer will join its leadership team as Senior Vice President of External Affairs. He will oversee SCPA's public and media relations, government affairs, community outreach and education program. Eisenhauer was previously Vice President of Government Relations for Maersk, with responsibility for policy and political outreach across all business units and for supporting its interests domestically and abroad.
Midlands Economic Impact Study
SCPA released results of a new economic impact study completed by the University of South Carolina's Darla Moore School of Business highlighting the Port's impacts on the Midlands region. The study found that the Port supports one in 12 Midlands jobs paying 40 percent higher than the state's average annual wage.
The Midlands region benefits from $13.6 billion in annual economic activity representing nearly 26 percent of SCPA's total statewide economic impact.
"While SCPA doesn't have operations in the Midlands, it remains an important driver of the region's economy," said Bill Stern, SCPA Board of Directors Chairman. "The Port's strong economic presence here reflects its connectivity across all regions of South Carolina."
The study identified the following impacts of port operations on Calhoun, Clarendon, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lee, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, Sumter, Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell and Edgefield:
- SCPA is responsible for nearly 48,000 jobs in the region.
- Approximately $2.6 billion in labor income from SCPA operations is infused into the Midlands economy annually.
- The manufacturing economy, which represents the primary user base of Port facilities, represents 8.2 percent of the Midlands economy.
The study was completed by research economist Joseph Von Nessen using total economic impacts associated with port operations and port users during the 2014 calendar year.
"Although the Port's statewide $53 billion impact is substantial, these economic benefits are felt strongly in the Midlands region, where the Port's impact translates into over 48,000 high-wage jobs," Von Nessen said. "But perhaps more importantly, the Port has an ability to facilitate the ongoing development of export-oriented industry clusters, particularly in advanced manufacturing. This is helping to expand the local manufacturing base - which already represents 8.2 percent of the Midlands economy - into a sizable industry footprint."
Statewide, the Port is responsible for 187,200 jobs and $53 billion in annual economic impact, representing nearly 10 percent of total gross state product.
