S.C. DELIVERS
Logistics
Staff Report
Federal grant to help enhance state’s logistics industry
T
he South Carolina Council on Competitiveness has received a $175,000 federal grant to partially fund an initiative to strengthen and develop the state’s logistics industry. “South Carolina has established itself as a key player in the logistics industry on the global stage,” said Ann Marie Stieritz, president & CEO of the council. “Our geographic location at the center of the southeastern United States, in addition to our transportation infrastructure – highways, railways, inland ports, the Port of Charleston, and proximity to international airports – give us a natural competitive advantage.” The council received a similar federal grant in 2013 to launch its initiative to
Port
develop the aerospace industry cluster, now known as SC Aerospace. According to the S.C. Department of Transportation’s Multimodal Plan, more than 375 million tons of freight, valued at nearly $600 billion, moved across the state’s freight network in 2011. That tonnage is expected to grow by 81% from 2011 to 2040. Suzanne Dickerson, the former director of international business development for Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR), was recently hired to lead the council’s logistics effort. One of the first steps will be to conduct actionable research on the companies and assets within the industry, Dickerson said.
“Our first step will be to understand what companies and assets we have in South Carolina’s logistics industry,” Dickerson said. “Once we have that information, we can analyze their current impact on the state’s economy and identify opportunities for growth.” The initiative will also convene a forum for the industry’s private sector leaders to establish goals and objectives for a strategic plan. The council will also support innovation by working with higher education institutions to develop an inventory of academic resources to solve industry problems. The grant was provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.
Liz Segrist, Staff Writer
Port of Charleston volumes most flat in Q1
www.scbizmag.com
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lobal trade growth continues to be moderate with around 5% growth forecast for the remainder of the year, down from the double-digit growth seen in 2015. The economic slowdown has created mostly flat cargo volumes at the Port of Charleston for the first quarter of fiscal 2017, from July through September. Some cargo volumes declined. For fiscal 2017, around 520,000 TEUs — a common industry measurement representing a 20-foot equivalent of a shipping container — came through the port, up 1.4% from the same time a year ago. September saw around 163,000 pier c ontainers come through, down 3% from September 2015. The beginning of fiscal 2017 started off relatively strong, and loaded import and export containers remain solid, up 4% overall in September. But empty containers coming in and out of the port continue to lag, down 28% last month. Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsome said he is not sure
Fiscal year 2017 Q1 port results Description
FY17 results so far
Percent change from Q1 2016
Total TEUs
520,276
1.4%
Rail TEUs
121,146
-1.7%
217,533 (pier tons)
-8.5%
Vehicles
64,361
-9.7%
Cruise passengers
49,958
0.7%
Operating revenues
$55.3 million
1.6%
Operating expenses
$43.9 million
4.3%
Operating earnings
$11.4 million
-7.5%
Charleston breakbulk cargo
why empty container volumes are declining. Newsome said he continues to be concerned about the overall trade economy, but sees positive movement in the export market. Newsome said the Southeast port market remains poised to grow double the size of the U.S. port market as more manufacturers locate in the region to boost exports and population growth contributes to a rise in imports. He hopes to see buoyed volumes at
the port during the second quarter. The port shut down operations for four days in October during Hurricane Matthew. Newsome said he did not expect a major dip in volumes for October since all but one ship came through the port following the storm. Those cargo volumes were to be released later. Four empty containers were damaged by the Category 1 hurricane. No other damage was incurred at the terminals.