SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
SOUTH CAROLINA TRADE AND LOGISTICS
SC Ports’ deep harbors and efficient operations deliver faster container turnaround compared with other ports.
SC Ports / Matthew Peacock overall expectations are that the remaining months of 2025 will experience softening.”
Comprehensive infrastructure investments have positioned SC Ports as a powerful alternative gateway on the US East Coast, allowing shippers quick, efficient access to the Southeast.
In February, the Port of Charleston welcomed OOCL’ s 16,828-TEU Iris at the Wando Welch Terminal. The vessel set records as the largest vessel, by TEUs, to visit the port and the Eastern Seaboard.
The Iris will join OOCL’ s Trans-Pacific East Coast Express, and Charleston will be the last US East Coast port in the rotation. This will enable exporters to take full advantage of the port’ s deep draft with fully loaded vessels and no tidal restrictions.
Completed in 2023, the Charleston Harbor Deepening Project made the harbor, at 52 feet, the deepest on the East Coast, allowing mega container ships to call the port at any tide. Charleston has built a worldwide reputation of efficiency, with an average of 36 crane moves per hour and a 1:00 a. m. vessel start time, a shipper advantage that is unique to SC Ports and allows for improved berth utilization.
With the dredging project, SC Ports’ infrastructure and terminal investments will increase both capacity and service for its present and future needs. A $ 55 million expansion at Inland Port Greer, completed in March, will enable the port to meet projected demand through 2040. Upgrades include an expanded container yard that increases capacity by 50 %, 9,000 feet of additional rail to handle longer trains, an expanded chassis lot, and new operations and maintenance buildings.
“ Customer demand drove the project,” Padgett said.“ Inland Port Greer has been wildly successful for regional importers and exporters, and the expansion will allow
SC Ports to meet growing demand in the Southeast for many more years to come.”
Additionally, work has begun on Phase 2 of the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, which will extend the wharf by an additional 1,600 feet, with plans to add two additional ship-to-shore cranes for a total of five. The project will allow the terminal to handle two mega container ships simultaneously and is expected to be completed in late 2026. At full build out, Leatherman Terminal will boast three berths and capacity for 2.4 million TEUs.
Construction is also moving ahead on the Navy Base Intermodal Facility( NBIF), which will provide near-dock rail to Leatherman Terminal and be serviced by both CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads. The facility will allow imports and exports to move quickly between the Port of Charleston and Inland Ports Greer and Dillon, as well as inland markets www. joc. com October 6, 2025 | Journal of Commerce 63