The South Carolina Ports Authority and Class I railroad CSX are collaborating to develop an intermodal terminal in Dillon, to supplement the existing intermodal station in Greer and draw more container cargo to the Port of Charleston.
The South Carolina Ports Authority is pursuing plans to build a second inland port in Dillon, S.C., on the I-95 corridor in the northcentral part of the state, near the North Carolina border
The site under consideration offers access to an existing mainline operated by freight railroad CSX, which opens a different intermodal marketplace from the state’s existing inland port in Greer, the SCPA said in an announcement last week.
The Greer inland port, located in the Upstate region near Greenville and Spartanburg, has performed beyond expectations in the 2.5 years since it opened as a cargo station for transferring containers by truck and using rail to transport import and exports to and from the Port of Charleston. It also serves as a storage area for empty containers, helping to free space at busy marine terminals. The facility is served by the Norfolk Southern railroad and its service area reaches into Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and even Virginia.
The SCPA said the Dillon facility would give it potential penetration into Midwest markets.
Read more about the Port of Charleston and the success of its inland port in the May American Shipper magazine feature “The Money Chase” and sidebar “Outsized Growth for Inland Port” about the SCPA’s desire to open a second inland port.
“Inland Port Greer is one of SCPA’s most successful investments. The growth of intermodal container volume movement in our state and region requires appropriate facilities in the interior to ground loaded and empty containers and to leverage the efficiency and sustainability of rail transportation,” SCPA Chief Executive Officer Jim Newsome said. “If it is feasible, an additional inland port will be a great diversification of our logistics footprint. We believe that building intermodal infrastructure in our state goes hand-in-hand with the significant investments we are making to our port facilities in Charleston.”
About 23 percent of containers imported or exported through Charleston last year moved by rail, with nearly 260,000 international intermodal rail lifts handled. Intermodal volume has grown 166 percent since 2011, driving increased demand for additional inland port facilities, the port authority said. Much of that activity occurs at rail yards in North Charleston, within a few miles drive by truck from Charleston’s container terminals.
“While our discussions are preliminary, the success of Inland Port Greer demonstrates the market demand for additional intermodal hubs to support growing volumes of cargo moving to and from Charleston by rail,” Newsome said. “We are working with CSX to determine the viability of Dillon, South Carolina as the location for our next inland port and hope to finalize our plans by the end of the year.”
The port authority said Dillon has many current port users in the area that could represent a significant cargo base for the start of intermodal operations.
“A second inland port in South Carolina would expand transportation options in the state, lowering shipping costs for South Carolina businesses and improving competitiveness,” Dean Piacente, CSX vice president, Intermodal, said in a statement. “This project would also generate substantial public benefits by creating jobs, spurring economic development and reducing traffic congestion on I-26 and I-95.”
The facility design and footprint, costs, and construction timeline are being studied by Hamburg Port Consultants. The SCPA said it is pursuing federal infrastructure funding assistance through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program to supplement the capital investment required for the project.
The Greer facility handled 8,821 rail moves in March, the fourth consecutive month that it has broken a volume record. Fiscal year-to-date, moves are up 66 percent to 67,032 train lifts. At that rate, the inland port could reach 100,000 lifts this year – at least two years ahead of schedule.
“This facility is firing on all cylinders, with a rich mix of exports, imports and empty container movements for many of the major container shipping lines,” Newsome said.
Customers include the local BMW auto manufacturing plant, tire manufacturers, forest product shippers and apparel companies. More distribution centers are opening in the region and are expected to take advantage of the intermodal service.
Meanwhile, container volumes in March at the Port of Charleston were flat, down 0.2 percent to 170,740 TEUs, according to the port authority.
During the first quarter, the box traffic ticked down 0.7 percent to 473,794 TEUs, but those comparisons are against significant gains the past couple of years, including 16.3 percent growth during the first quarter of 2015. Officials have said they expected growth to tail off this year because a dockworker protest on the West Coast that led to cargo diversion has been resolved, exports are being crimped by a strong dollar and many export markets have weak economies.
Cargo throughput at Charleston’s container terminals is up 3.8 percent to 1.45 million TEUs for the fiscal year-to-date since July.
The port authority said breakbulk freight through March exceeded fiscal year estimates by 32 percent, with 671,545 pier tons handled. Vehicles remain a strong part of the port’s breakbulk business segment. The Port of Charleston handled 25,839 vehicles in March and finished vehicle volume is up 13 percent through the first three quarters of the fiscal year.
