MOUNT PLEASANT — The Port of Charleston in March saw the biggest surge in imported cargo since last summer, but the S.C. State Ports Authority is bracing for declines in coming months because of rising fuel prices and the war in Iran.
The port’s marine terminals handled 109,400 cargo containers measured in 20-foot increments last month. That’s the first time the total has topped six figures since October and the largest number since August. Still, the import tally was down 3.6% year-over-year and trails year-to-date figures by 11.3%.
Loaded export boxes were flat compared to the same period a year ago and year-to-date.
Byron Miller, the authority’s chief commercial officer, cautioned against reading too much into the one-month upswing during Tuesday’s meeting of the maritime agency’s board of directors.
“It’s a stronger month than we’ve seen lately but maybe just an aberration,” he said.
Miller said container lines have canceled more sailings than normal during April — a trend shipping experts expect will continue as long as the Iran war puts pressure on fuel costs.
“Just because retailers don’t import a lot of merchandise from the Middle East doesn’t mean the U.S. supply chain isn’t affected by turmoil there,” Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, said in a written statement.
“The supply chain is global, and disruptions anywhere along it can have ripple effects whether it’s rerouting of vessels, equipment out of position, higher field costs for shippers or rising gas prices that leave less money in consumers’ pockets,” he said.
Micah Mallace, the authority’s president and CEO, said industry economists “have really turned kind of pessimistic” since the Iran war started Feb. 28, forecasting lower cargo volumes nationwide and slower growth in gross domestic product.
“They’re not giving anyone in our industry any warm and fuzzies right now,” he said. “So, we see the potential for headwinds if this continues much longer.”
Mallace said the authority is going through its budget process for the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1, and is looking to trim about $16 million from an expense budget expected to top $172 million this year.
“If the environment is going to be flat to down, with inflationary pressures of fuel and other inputs, then costs remain our top focus,” he said.
The number of vehicles exported from the port’s Columbus Street Terminal in Charleston — primarily BMWs built in the Upstate — is down 5.65% since January. And the overall number of cargo boxes — both loaded and unloaded — has fallen by nearly 12% year to date.
One highlight has been record-breaking cargo moving through the authority’s inland port in Dillon. That facility has seen a nearly 41.4% jump in containers this year, due in large part to growth at Harbor Freight Tools, the inland port’s top customer.
The authority’s board spent more than two hours in private session Tuesday, in part to discuss a proposed contract for demolition of the old WestRock paper mill adjacent to the North Charleston Terminal. The board did not take any action on the contract, which is expected to come up for a public vote at a future meeting.
The authority bought the roughly 280-acre paper mill site for $105 million two years ago after WestRock shut the facility down following 86 years of operation.
The authority, which used a combination of state and federal funds to buy the site, plans to expand its North Charleston Terminal onto the property, giving the port enough room to grow through at least the middle of this century.
But before a major expansion can take place, the state’s Department of Transportation will have to replace the Don Holt Bridge over the Cooper River to make room for the tall container ships that now visit U.S. ports. Those plans are in the early stages.
Mallace has also said the authority’s main focus will be on investments that generate immediate revenue rather than long-term infrastructure.
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