Volume up, exports equaling imports at SC port

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Container volume at the Port of Charleston increased during the past two months and the head of the South Carolina State Ports Authority is optimistic that volume for the fiscal year will be up.

Authority president and CEO Jim Newsome told the ports board Tuesday that port traffic is now about evenly divided between exports and imports. In recent decades, South Carolina has largely handled imports.

Newsome says demand for manufactured and agricultural exports is increasing with the growth of the Chinese economy.

Despite the increases in January and February, container volume for the fiscal year that started last July is flat as the national economy continues to recover. But Newsome says Charleston is nearing contracts with two shipping lines that should help increase container volume.