Charleston Port sees box volume rise 14pc in November

THE US Port of Charleston's container throughput in November totalled 65,251 pier containers, representing an increase of 14.4 per cent compared to the same month last year.

A statement from port authorities said that in the first 11 months of 2010, Charleston's container volume was up 17.5 per cent. Container volume over the past five months was up 15.9 per cent.

"A recovering economy and new ocean carrier services boosted our business," said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) in a statement.

"As we predicted, volume is softening from previous months as we reach the end of the peak season. But Charleston has a number of specific cargo initiatives, such as the new 100,000-lbs overweight permit for containerised freight in South Carolina, which will bear fruit moving ahead," he said.

Non-containerised cargo in November was double the budgeted projection due to triple-digit percentage increases in breakbulk cargo. Total breakbulk volume in November was 128,386 tons. South Carolina's breakbulk pier tonnage was up 18 per cent year on year from January to November and 19 per cent for the first five months of the port authority's fiscal year.
(Source:www.schednet.com)