SC Ports
SC Ports on Dec. 17 reported that it is improving its intermodal connections in South Carolina with the ongoing expansion of Inland Port Greer—served by Norfolk Southern/NS—and construction of the Navy Base Intermodal Facility—to be served by CSX, NS, and Palmetto Railways.
More than 9,000 feet of new rail has already been placed to accommodate longer trains carrying more cargo at Inland Port Greer, according to SC Ports, which noted that the container yard has been expanded to the east and west, doubling cargo capacity. With these improvements, it said, Inland Port Greer can handle 300,000 rail lifts annually.
Additionally, two new rubber-tired hybrid gantry cranes, which arrived in the fall, are completing commissioning, and will soon be moving containers.
Work is ongoing to expand the chassis yard and to construct the new operations and maintenance buildings, according to SC Ports. This expansion, it said, is “on track” for completion in late spring.
The rail-served inland port is located along Interstate 85 between Charlotte and Atlanta, supporting businesses throughout the Upstate and beyond. NS provides daily rail service to the Port of Charleston.
SC Ports is also expanding rail capabilities at the Port of Charleston. With $400 million in state funding, the Navy Base Intermodal Facility “is taking shape,” it said, on a 118-acre site in North Charleston near Leatherman Terminal.
“The Navy Base Intermodal Facility will move cargo quickly and reliably between the Port of Charleston and inland ports, and to key markets like Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, Louisville and beyond,” SC Ports reported.
“We know the confidence our customers place in us when they choose our port,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin said. “We are making strategic investments in rail-supported infrastructure to support their growth in the Southeast.”
Meanwhile, SC Ports also reported that 5% more containerized cargo moved through the Port of Charleston in November compared with last year, with 116,273 pier containers and 211,443 TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) handled.
Fiscal-year-to-date, container volumes “remain steady,” with 583,959 pier containers and 1.06 million TEUs handled since July, up about 1% year-over-year, SC Ports said.
Inland Ports Greer and Dillon (served by CSX) handled a combined 17,735 rail moves in November, and the Port saw 16,695 vehicles roll across it docks last month.
Further Reading:
Ports of Indiana
Tanco Terminals is investing $8.2 million to expand its “liquid tank farm” at Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor, which is on the southern tip of Lake Michigan in Portage, the Port reported Dec. 17.
Tanco’s operation at Burns Harbor encompasses eight acres and 11 tanks with more than 375,000 barrels of liquid cargo capacity. The company handles 20 million to 25 million gallons of products for a variety of customers in industries ranging from construction to maritime fuel and roofing. The new project will expand Tanco’s ability to transload liquid cargo between ocean vessels, river barges, and rail.
Tanco is adding a sixth rail loading track, a new truck scale, three storage tanks—two with 36,000-barrel capacity and a third at 42,000 barrels—along with multimodal transload equipment for handling products by ship, barge, rail, and truck.
The project also includes a new office and maintenance hub, steam boilers, a thermal fluid heater, multiple electric motors for mixers, high viscosity-capable pumps for multimodal transfers, and improved safety and emergency response measures, according to the Ports of Indiana.
The Ports’ other locations are Jeffersonville, which is just across from Louisville, Ky., on the Ohio River, and Mount Vernon, the closest major port to the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The Ports of Indiana annually handles 7 million tons of cargo and 40,000 railcars.
Among the railroads serving the Ports of Indiana are Burns Harbor Railroad, Mount Vernon Railroad, Evansville Western Railway, CSX, Louisville & Indiana Railroad, and Norfolk Southern.
“This investment will allow us to meet the needs of our new and current customers while also providing for future expansion,” said Kip Middendorf, Vice President and Managing Director of Tanco Terminals. “We see opportunities for major growth in various sectors, including agriculture, petroleum, and petrochemicals, plus industries that support steel manufacturing. Tanco is also well positioned to provide product transfer services for ISO tank containers when Ports of Indiana opens its new international container terminal at Burns Harbor in the near future.”
“Tanco has been shipping liquid cargoes and providing critical tank farm services at our port for 47 years, and we’re thrilled to see its plans for future growth,” commented Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock. “This expansion creates new opportunities and better efficiencies as Tanco continues to grow, and we’re happy to continue our partnership with such a great company.”
Further Reading:
- Ports of Indiana Lands $11MM Grant for Rail Yard, Transload Facility
- Lumina to Launch Processing Facility at Ports of Indiana
- Intermodal Briefs: Ports of Indiana, Los Angeles, Coos Bay
- Mount Vernon Railroad Launches, Serves Southwest Indiana Port
- Expansion Set for Steel Processing Plant at Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville
- OmniTRAX Named Rail Operator for Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon
