The South Carolina Ports system recently posted a new record as the MSC Rayshmi made dock, drafting at 48 feet and 11 inches. Charleston officials implemented a plan ahead of the supply chain logjams to deepen its water to 52 feet. The move allowed the massive container vessel to move upwards of 2,758 containers on and off via crane at the Wando Welch Terminal. Port officials reportedly have projects in the works that would deepen other sections of Charleston Harbor as well.
“SC Ports can efficiently handle fully loaded mega container ships at any tide thanks to our strategic investments in port operations, the talent of our maritime community and the success of the Charleston Harbor Deepening Project,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin reportedly said. “The Charleston Harbor Deepening Project will be completed faster than any project of its kind in the country. This amazing feat was made possible with the great support of Governor Henry McMaster, the South Carolina Legislature and the Congressional delegation, and through our strong partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District.”
While port officials across the country sometimes think in terms of localized success, those thousands of containers are likely to end up on a truck chassis. Whether directly pulled from the yard to a final destination, intermediate stops at warehouses, or offloaded from a rail car in another city, South Carolina is effectively increasing trucking jobs that may have been restricted to larger ports such as Long Beach, Los Angeles, or New York-New Jersey. In August, South Carolina Ports reportedly moved 223,411 twenty-foot equivalents and 123,011 pier containers at the Wando Welch, Leatherman, and North Charleston terminals.
Officials at Port Milwaukee also started expansions ahead of the supply chain crisis. Back in 2019, the facility secured a $16 million Port Infrastructure Development Program grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration. That was long before the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure spending package passed.
Construction to create a $35 million agricultural export facility was underway in 2021. The buildout is expected to be completed in 2023, significantly increasing its 400,000 metric tons of agricultural products through the Great Lakes system. Port Milwaukee Director Tindall-Schlicht has been diligently crafting a plan that would reportedly implement strategic upgrades through 2070.
“For the last four years we’ve focused on renewal and reinvention, looking for opportunities that will help lay the groundwork for the next generations at the port,” Tindall-Schlicht reportedly said.
The reimagining of trade routes and port infrastructure improvements offer newly-minted and seasoned truckers opportunities to live and work in states with lower costs of living while earning good salaries. It appears South Carolina and Wisconsin represent growth opportunities.
Sources: ajot.com, ajot.com, insure.com
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