State ports initiative puts focus on rail

The State Ports Authority, booming in exports, plans to capture even more of that business -- both new and previously lost -- by launching a rail-served warehouse program.

SPA Chief Executive Jim Newsome announced the initiative Wednesday at the S.C. International Trade Conference at Charleston Place. His agency teamed up with 14 local warehouses to "transload" exports, meaning move them from rail cars to shipping containers.

Newsome listed three advantages for transloading: It offers a new alternative for moving cargo through Charleston. It takes diesel trucks off the road, thereby cutting down on potentially harmful emissions. And it provides an opportunity for local entrepreneurs.

Mark Hughes with Brown Distribution Centers, a Ladson warehouse operation, said a rail car can carry three shipping containers for every one per truck.

The program would focus on goods such as lumber, cotton, wood pulp and food products. Newsome estimates the initiative could save customers $100 to $200 per container.

Port officials have pitched the program to 100 prospective users and, as of Wednesday, have started conversations with some of those companies, according to SPA spokesman Byron Miller.

The plan comes after exports increased 36 percent year over year in April, according to SPA officials.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or abird@postandcourier.com.