Charleston sees diverting west coast boxes through Panama

SOUTH CAROLINA's State Ports Authority chief Jim Newsome has called the Panama Canal expansion a "three million container opportunity" for the Port of Charleston, reports the local daily, The Post and Courier.

Speaking at the Chamber of Commerce Developers Council's growth forum, Mr Newsome discussed the likelihood of siphoning off container traffic from west coast ports after the Panama Canal expansion doubles the waterway's capacity in 2014.

This is an argument long put by the rival Port of Savannah, which regularly comes to Hong Kong to promote the all-water route arguing that it costs less to keep cargo aboard ship until it lands in the eastern United States, where 80 per cent of American consumers live rather than hauling it overland from California.

Mr Newsome echoed this thought after a Charleston delegation recently toured the Panama Canada, and he pointed out the need to build distribution centres and a competitive rail system and upgrade container facilities already under construction at the old navy yard in North Charleston.

Mr Newsome said little about the contentious debate in Washington over funding needed harbour dredging, which requires an earmark [designated funding from a money bill not meant for a project] which Republican Senator Jim DeMint will not support, said the report.

"It is very important that we keep our harbour-deepening project on track," said Mr Newsome said. "I don't want to get into an arcane discussion about earmarks."
(Source:www.schednet.com)