b'OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 19, 2023 NORTH AMERICAS TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS NEWSPAPER 35(ZEROcontinued from page 18) (GROWTHcontinued from page 28)The program enjoys a 65% partic- the year before. ipation rate among vessels calling onThefirstphaseofanexpansion the port. K Line was recently recog- of Inland Port Greer was completedHWYH2O.COMnized for top honors for a second yearlate last year, which involved build-in a row for its slow steaming efforts,ing an additional rail processing track with an 85% compliance rate. Maerskand two rail storage tracks within the was number two with a 76% compli- terminal. The addition of8,000feet ance rate, while Mitsui O.S.K. Linesof new rail is expected to meet cargo performed at the 70% level.demandsthrough2040.Thenext Reducing vessel speeds improvesphase of expansion involves expand-airqualitynearpopulationcenters,ing the container yard by 15 acres to the roadmap noted, and also reduceshandle 50% more cargo. The expan-the risk of fatal strikes on whales. sion also involves doubling the size of In 2021, said Bozza, the cleanthe existing chassis yard capacity and vesselprogramhelpedremove850building new facilities for heavy lift tons of nitrogen oxides and 62 tons ofmaintenance and terminal operations. sulfur oxides from the air. The full project is slated for comple-tion in the winter of 2024.Infiscalyear2023,SCPorts (MAGNETcontinued from page 28) handled2.6millionTEUsand1.4 Columbia, 115 miles northwest of themillion pier containers, down about Port of Charleston. 10% from fiscal year 2022 levels, but Followingthatfirstphaseofup 1% from the more typical 2021. investment,thecompanyplanstoJunes container results were up by build a 400,000-square-foot lithium- over 3% year over year, July showedW I T HOOUURR N E WAANNDDionbatteryrecyclingandmaterialsa 12% increase over June and a 3%I M P R O V E DGGAATTEEWWAAYYcampus that will focus on processingincreaseyearoveryear.Theretail, end-of-lifehybridandEVbatteriesadvancedmanufacturing,automo- I N C E N T I V E ,TTHHEERREE HHAASSN E V E RBBEEEENN AA BE T T E Rand battery scrap to extract materialstive, and cold storage sectors, notedB E T T E Rsuchasnickel,cobalt,andlithium.Melvin, continue to drive growth atT I M ETTOO SSTTAARRTT SS PP PNNHHI I P I I GGThecompanyisplanningtoinvestthe Port of Charleston. O NTTHHEE GGRREEAATT LL A K E SA K E Sover $1 billion in the EV sector overW I T HHHWWYY HH OOthenextfiveyears,toexpandthe2infrastructurerequiredtomeetthe(ACHIEVEMENTScontinued growing demand for materials neededfrom page 30)for EV lithium-ion batteries. our strategic plan, said Clark.ThesemetalswillsupporttheContainervolumethroughthe UnitedStatesdomesticlithium-ionPort of Wilmington increased by 7% battery supply chain, said David Kla- year over year in fiscal year 2023, and necky,president,andchiefexecutiveNorthCarolinaportsposteda12% officer of Cirba Solutions, and will pro- year-over-year growth clip for general vide enough premium recycled battery- cargo volume, marking a record year moorreeiinnffoorrmmaattiioonn::grade metal salts to power over 500,000for tonnage and, at $79.3 million, aFor melectric vehicles batteries annually. record for operating revenue as well.E ail [email protected] Port of Wilmington and the PortemCouncilforEconomicDevelopmentof Morehead City together moved a has already approved job developmenttotal of 4.6 million tons of bulk and creditsrelatedtothisprojectandanbreakbulk cargo in fiscal year 2023.additional $3 million grant to RichlandThe strong breakbulk performance County to assist with the costs of sitewas driven by construction and build- well,saidClark,andwillremaintransported,observedGlynHughes, preparation and building construction.ing products, steel, rubber, pulp andour focus going forward. director general of The International Air TheCirbafacilitywillalsobepaperproducts,andprojectcargoCargo Association (TIACA).usedasaneducationalandprofes- such as locomotives, fiber pipe, andThefreightforwardingcom-sionaltrainingcenter,highlightingfuselage.Thegrowthinbulkcargo(VISIONcontinued from page 34) munityispredominantlybasedon processing technology for end-of-lifevolume was driven primarily by fer- undertheVision2030program,thelocal companies who support the oil batteries. The Richland County facil- tilizer, grain, and feed, and the exportchallenge appears huge. industry. There are only 13 IATA reg-ity, where operations are expected toof woodchips and wood pellets. Itsdominantairline,Saudiahasistered agents in the country, the same begin in late 2024, will be the compa- Our strategic decision to remainseven freighters and over 150 passengeras Guatemala and less than a third of nys eighth in North America and itsdiversifiedbetweencontainersandaircraft but does not feature within thethenumberregisteredintheUAE. fourth located in the U.S. battery belt. generalcargocontinuestoserveusworlds top 25 cargo carriers by tonnageAlthough some global major forward-ers do have a presence there, mostly deal with large-scale project activity.Astoairports,hesaidRiyadh is the leading one in KSA for cargo throughput, although in 2021 it only rankedatnumber78globallyand 7th in the Middle East/Africa region. Jeddah was 99th and 10th.TheestablishmentofRiyadh Airaspartofthenationalaviation policy will see significant additional capacityenteringthemarket.With an order for over 70 Boeing 787s the amount of belly cargo capacity con-nectingaplannednetworkofover 100destinationswillbeconsider-able, Hughes underlined.The key for any airline or hub success is to deliver high quality, cost effectivesolutions.WithIstanbul, Doha, and Dubai already well-estab-lished within the region and with each showing strong steady growth, the key to Saudi Arabias air cargo expansion andgrowthwillbetoidentifynew markets and expand its connectivity. Air Cargo still only transports about 1-2%ofglobaltradebyvolume. (VISIONcontinued on page 35) Opportunities exist to grow this.'