Charleston touts transload export option
The Port of Charleston is tapping into the frustration of exporters over difficulty finding ocean containers and vessel slots by promoting its deep channels and equipment availability.
Demand for U.S. exports continues to increase as the global economy improves and the dollar remains relatively weak compared to other currencies.
On Wednesday, the South Carolina port announced a joint marketing program with 14 rail-served warehouses able to transload bulk commodities into containers for export. The transload facilities are served by Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation or both.
Charleston experienced a 36 percent increase in loaded export TEUs during April versus a year ago. Export TEUs were up 6 percent from March. The Port of Charleston handles a lot of forestry products and some of the increase is due to demand for packaging materials.
Commodities targeted for the initiative include cotton, lumber, wood pulp and food products. Transloading is becoming a more popular option for inland companies that can't find enough containers. Many ocean carriers prefer to turnaround their containers at the port to reuse them for import traffic. Transloading allows exporters to get their products into containers by loading them near the port, where equipment is plentiful. Charleston exported 111,000 empty containers last year.
Ocean carriers typically can carry fewer outbound containers because export commodities tend to be much heavier than imported merchandise. Charleston is promoting the fact that its harbor is 45 feet at low tide and up to 51 feet at high tide, enabling carriers to take on additional containers to fill their vessels to capacity.
For every foot of water gained, an ocean carrier can add about 100 fully loaded, 40-foot containers, the port said.