b'8American Journal of Transportation ajot.comNorth Carolinas Port of Wilmington offeringCAROLINA PORTS 2021supply chain diversificationBy Paul Scott Abbott, AJOTIn these challenging times,lic-privatepartnership.The when shippers are assertivelyColdSummitfirminitially seeking supply chain diversi- plansa280,000-square-foot fication, the expanding facili- temperature-controlledfacil-tiesoftheNorthCarolinaity, with a second phase call-StatePortsAuthoritysPorting for 160,000 square feet of of Wilmington are offering aadditional warehousing. highlyefficient,congestion- Last year, the port opened freealternativeformovinga new refrigerated container bothtemperature-controlledyard while doubling its refrig-and nonrefrigerated cargos. erated container plug contin-NCPortshasseentre- gent to more than 1,000 units.mendous progress over the lastEarlier this year, NC Ports year despite the challenges andreached agreement with Omaha,The South Carolina Ports Authoritys Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal is the first U.S. greenfield containerport facility to obstacles of the pandemic andNebraska-basedgrain,feedopen in more than a decade.(Photo credit: Walter Lagrenne, South Carolina Ports Authority)currentsupplychainissues,and food ingredient exporter Brian E. Clark, executive direc- The Scoular Co. for develop- South Carolinas Port of Charleston tor of the North Carolina enter- ment of an on-port transload prise agency, told AJOT.facility for containerized exportsdelivering big-ship-handling capacityI am extremely proud ofof agricultural products.the performance and resolveWith 2,600 contiguous feet oftheentireteam,addedof container berthing served byBy Paul Scott Abbott, AJOTClark, a former APM Termi- sevenship-to-shoregantries, nalsexecutivewho,follow- as well as a recently expandedWith this years opening of the first U.S.to boost the Port of Charlestons total annual ing 3 1/2 years as the Northturningbasinandheightenedgreenfieldcontainerterminalinmorethanthroughput capacity to more than 4.8 million CarolinaauthorityschiefCape Fear River air draft, theadecadeplussignificantmodernizationof20-foot-equivalent units.commercial officer, assumedPort of Wilmington is able toitsvenerableWandoWelchThePortofCharlestons the NC Ports helm from PaulsimultaneouslyaccommodateTerminal,theSouthCaro- increasedbig-ship-handling J. Cozza in January. twomegacontainershipsandlina Ports Authoritys Port ofcapability is coming at a pro-WhileinthefinalphaseishandlingultralargevesselsCharlestonisexceptionallypitioustime,amidstapan-ofa$250millioninfrastruc- eachwithcapacityofmorepositionedtofluidlymovedemic-spurredincreasein tureenhancementprogram,than14,000TEUs,suchasburgeoningvolumesonandU.S.consumerspendingand NC Ports wrapped up its 2021YangMings14,220-TEU- off megacontainerships. concomitant import boom and fiscalyearonJune30withcapacity YM Warranty. As the only port in theheighteneddistributionhub record results, including handlingOn the carrier service front,countrywithnewterminalcapacity demand.324,145 twenty-foot-equivalentSealandthispastsummercapacity,SCPortshastheAmid ongoing supply chain units of containerized cargo, upbegan calling Wilmington withabilitytohandlethegrow- challenges, SC Ports capacity, 2percentovertheprecedingits NAE Service, directly link- ing cargo volumes and risingberthavailabilityandefficient 12-month period, with refriger- ing the North Carolina seaportretail imports coming throughoperationsaremoreimportant ated cargo leading the way withwith such key Caribbean andthePortofCharleston,than ever, Newsome said.a 9 percent year-over-year gain. Central American ports as Cart- James I. Jim Newsome III,Operations were launched Our recent successes canagena and Turbo in Colombia;president and chief executivein March at the first phase of be attributed to our employ- Manzanillo, Panama; and Puertoofficer of the South CarolinaJames I. Jim Newsome III, presidentHugh K. Leatherman Terminal, ees, who maintain our qual- Mon, Costa Rica. authority, told AJOT. and chief executive officer of the SouthbuiltonaformerU.S.Navy ity customer service standardsWilmington receives weeklyIn his dozen years at theCarolina Ports Authority, is pleased withbase site in North Charleston, and the ambition for NC Portscalls from THE Alliances EC2SC Ports helm, Newsome, aexpanding infrastructure capabilities towhere the port permitting pro-to continue to deliver on ourserviceandZim/2MAlli- formerHapag-Lloyd(Amer- meet supply chain demands. cess began back in 2003. The missionofenhancingtheances ZCP/TP10/Amberjackica) Inc. president, has spearheaded deliveryinitialLeathermanphaseisadding700,000 economy of North Carolina,service, both of which comeofwhathetermedjust-in-the-nick-of-timeTEUs of yearly capacity at the Port of Charles-Clark said. (DIVERSIFICATIONcon- infrastructure,includingthroughanambi- ton. At full build-out, a three-berth Leatherman tinued on page 10) tious six-year, $2 billion initiative that augurs(CAPACITYcontinued on page 10)Brian E. Clark, executive director of the North Carolina State Ports Authority, is proud of the performance of the NC Ports team in challenging times.Amongthemostrecent advances at the Port of Wilm-ingtonisthelateAugust inking of an agreement with SunValley,Idaho-based ColdSummitDevelopment tobuildfurtheruponthe impressive cold chain logis-ticsfacilitiesattheport, which include the 3-million-cubic-footPortof Wilming-ton Cold Storage installation opened in 2016 under a pub-'