The Port of Charleston has opened the first new container terminal in the US since 2009, increasing its terminal capacity by nearly 30 percent as cargo volumes surge in the Southeast.

The Leatherman terminal, along with new retail BCOs and resin exporters, will lead to a bounceback in volume after the COVID-19 pandemic crimped container traffic, the South Carolina Ports Authority said in its State of the Port address.

Container volume in Savannah set a new monthly record in August, a result port officials didn’t anticipate but attribute to US consumer demand for online shopping and home improvement goods.

The Port of Charleston wants to diversify its cargo business into e-commerce, netting big-box retailer Walmart as the first major omnichannel retailer to occupy a port authority-owned warehousing complex less than an hour from Charleston.

With larger vessels visiting the East Coast on a more frequent basis, the South Carolina Ports Authority has inked a deal to let a stevedore consortium run dock operations in Charleston.

The Federal Maritime Commission will engage stakeholders on how it can maintain cargo fluidity in the supply chain during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in a bid to avoid disruption.

Despite the expected decline in throughput due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the South Carolina Ports Authority says work shifts and hours will not be reduced, nor will restrictions be imposed on empty returns.

The Port of Charleston has received the final $138 million in federal funds necessary to deepen its harbor to 52 feet, which would make it capable of handling 18,000-20,000-TEU vessels as soon as 2022.

Ports in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia are expected to reopen this weekend with relatively normal operations, while the Port of Halifax waits to see how much of an impact Dorian will have there.

Frontier Logistics has broken ground on a massive resin warehouse project at North Charleston’s former U.S. Navy base, a sign resin exports from the US show no signs of slowing anytime soon.

Fluidity is the goal of any port, and by investing in more cranes, the South Carolina Ports Authority can sell speed.

Keeping these projects funded and on schedule is important because beneficial cargo owners want to put their supply chains in markets ready for the future of ocean transportation — and that means being ready for mega-ships.

The Charleston dredging project has proceeded quickly through a series of milestones since the corps recommended the deepening in 2010.

Two recent announcements of Charleston-area transloading facilities show that resin producers are casting a wide net for ports.

When competition spurs investment, shippers stand to benefit regardless of their port preference. A variety of factors — harbor depths, ocean services, on- and near-dock intermodal facilities, rail lift capacity, and inland reach — will determine where shippers will funnel Asia imports heading to Chicago and the Ohio Valley sweet spot farther east.

South Carolina state officials say a dispute with the two major Eastern railroads won’t threaten the 2019 opening of an intermodal terminal at the Port of Charleston, but the railroads say that hinges on a design change.