On the heels of announcing five-year plans for growth, investment and cargo base expansion, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) reported a four-percent increase in August container volumes over the same month last year.

SCPA handled 170,528 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in August. With 345,751 TEUs moved during the first two months of the 2016 fiscal year, container volume is up 8.8 percent year-over-year.

As measured in pier containers, nearly 97,000 boxes moved across SCPA docks in August. Fiscal year-to-date pier container volume is up 8.1 percent, with 195,703 boxes handled during the last two months.

“August was a strong month across all business segments,” said Jim Newsome, SCPA president and CEO. “This broad-based growth is indicative of the modest, sustained volume increases we’re expecting as the 2016 fiscal year progresses. I continue to believe that Southeastern ports will see relatively strong growth compared to the overall U.S. market.”

Non-containerized cargo volumes also increased in August.

The Port of Charleston moved 73,288 pier tons during the month, and fiscal year-to-date volumes are nearly 39 percent higher than plan. Georgetown handled 8,471 pier tons in August, pushing SCPA’s total fiscal year-to-date breakbulk volumes to 81,758 pier tons, 19 percent ahead of plan.

The inland port also saw a strong month, handling 7,322 rail moves in August. With 14,889 total rail moves handled fiscal year to date, the facility’s strong volumes are 52 percent higher than plan.

The SCPA Board recently adopted a resolution releasing 29 acres of property to the Charleston Naval Complex for transfer to Palmetto Railways for development related to the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility.

The property was originally included as part of a larger parcel leased by SCPA in 1999 for the development of the Navy Base Terminal.