JIM NEWSOME Leading with enthusiasm and optimism TDL CLUSTER Uniting companies to increase efficiency and innovation MAERSK and TBC CHOOSE CHARLESTON Commitments from these companies are helping to build momentum for S.C. Ports NOVEMBER + DECEMBER 2009
PortCharleston is published by the Marketing and Sales Division of the South Carolina State Ports Authority. Through editorials, news stories, and feature stories, the magazine is designed to keep readers informed on matters regarding international trade through the Port of Charleston. As the official publication of the second largest port on the East and Gulf Coasts, PortCharleston is a valuable source of information for all traders and those who serve the trade and transportation industry.
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Feature:Effi ciency and InnovationNew Carolina’s Transportation, Distribution and Logistics cluster has launched a plan that aims to secure the competitiveness of South Carolina’s TDL industry and increase prosperity for residents of the state.leadership, new staff and a revised organizational structure reinforce the SCSPA’s customer-centered focus.
DEPARTMENTS:
2 facilities portrait
6 news
16 profi les
28 viewfi nder
32 pics
PROFILES:
Waterfront PersonalityJIM NEWSOME: Leading with enthusiasm and optimism.
DistributionBLACKHAWK LOGISTICS:A logistics solutions partner for companies of all sizes
ATLANTA Phone: 678-775-6731. Address: 6340 Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 200, Duluth, GA 30097
CHARLOTTE Phone: 704-643-7777. Address: P.O. Box 241174, Charlotte, NC 28224-1174
NEW JERSEY Phone: 908-757-6669. Address: Hadley Plaza, 3000 Hadley Road, South Plainfi eld, NJ 07080
EUROPE AGENT Managing Dir.: Bram van der Velden of Eurolist International Ltd. Phone: 44 20 7387-7300. Address: Evergreen House, 160 Euston Road, London NW1 2DT UK
JAPAN AGENT Director: Yogi Doi; Phone: 5642-6317. Address: Room No. 52, 5th Floor, Kyodo Bldg., (Chuo), 1-2-12, Kayabacho, Nihonbashi, Chuoku, Tokyo, 103-0025, Japan
CHINA AGENT Director: Capt. Y.Z. Liu; Phone: 86-216-405-6358. Address: Room 902 9/F, Hua Guang Garden, 3297 Hong Mei Road, Shanghai, PR China, 201103
INDIA AGENT Director: Anthony Lobo; Phone 0091 9820123909. E-mail: [email protected]. Address: Sea Breeze B/5, Mori Road, Mahim. Mumbai 400 016 India.
PortCharleston Magazine is the offi cial publication of the South Carolina State Ports Authority’s Marketing & Sales Division, published at the headquarters offi ce in Charleston. It is distributed free of charge to qualifi ed recipients. ISSN No. 0896-2278
22
2 N + D 2009 • PortCharleston
CARRIER PORTRAITPORTCHARLESTON
2 N + D 2009 • PortCharleston
N + D 2009 • PortCharleston 3
MAERSK LINESERVICES IN CHARLESTON: TA2 (TRANS-ATLANTIC), MECL 1 (MIDDLE EAST, INDIA SUB-
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) now offers Central America Service.
MSC provides wide all-water port coverage with weekly direct vessels from the US via Freeport to Santo Tomas de Castilla in Guatemala and Puerto Cortes in Honduras with on-carriage service to El Salvador and Nicaragua.
More inland depots and greater container availability plus competitive, flexible pricing and faster transit times make MSC the right choice when moving south and northbound shipments to and from US ports.
MSC’S NEW PLACE IN THE SUN
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MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING COMPANY (USA), Inc. as agents for MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A.
The SCSPA and Maersk Line have established a new contract that keeps the Danish shipping line in the Port of Charleston through 2014.
SCSPA President and CEO Jim Newsome announced the news at
the annual State of the Port Address to the Propeller Club of the Port
of Charleston. Th e news drew a standing ovation from more than 550
attendees who were assembled at the Passenger Terminal.
“Maersk Line is the largest line in the world, having 15 percent
of the world’s market share,” Newsome said. “I cannot imagine run-
ning a major port without having Maersk as a prominent customer.
Th e good news is that we will not have to.”
Working from a smaller, dedicated portion of the Wando Welch
Terminal, Maersk Line will continue to off er customers across the
globe a reliable, committed service at the Port of Charleston.
“Under the new agreement, Maersk Line will maintain a competitive
position within the Port of Charleston,” said Dana Magliola, spokes-
person for Maersk Line. “Th is will allow us to continue to provide a
reliable service for our valued customers in South Carolina, a benefi t
to the economy both in Charleston and throughout South Carolina.”
Gordon Dorsey, senior vice president of operations for Maersk
Line in North America, said Maersk worked closely with SCSPA
leadership since the carrier initially voiced its concern about cost
competitiveness for Maersk Line within the Port of Charleston.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreeable solution for both
Maersk Line and the Port of Charleston,” Dorsey said. “Overall,
this agreement was achieved through the cooperation and hard
work of many stakeholders, but we particularly appreciate the ef-
forts of Jim Newsome and Paul McClintock of the South Carolina
State Ports Authority, and South Carolina state Sen. Larry Grooms,
who as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, along
with Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell and Senate
Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, played a cru-
cial role in keeping the talks alive and fostering a second round
of discussions that resulted in today’s agreement.”
Dorsey added that this agreement will continue a long, suc-
cessful relationship between Maersk Line and the South Carolina
State Ports Authority. Combined with other regional Maersk
Line services and port offerings, this agreement ensures that
Maersk Line will continue to offer a broad portfolio of reliable,
industry-leading transportation products to and from the United
States’ Southeast region.
MAERSK LINES’ EXTENDED COMMITMENT TO S.C. PORTS IS A BIG BOOST FOR SC PORT CARGO CLIENTS, THE SCSPA, MAERSK LINE, AND THE MANY
PORT OF CHARLESTON WATERFRONT WORKERS. MAERSK CURRENTLY HAS 5 WEEKLY DEPLOYMENTS CALLING CHARLESTON COVERING EUROPE,
ASIA, AFRICA, CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN.
Maersk and TBC Choose CharlestonCommitments from the world’s largest ocean carrier and the one of the nation’s largest replacement tire fi rms build momentum for S.C. Ports
(LEFT TO RIGHT), JIM HILL, VICE PRESIDENT MWV COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND LAND MANAGEMENT; ED
GUILTINAN, VICE PRESIDENT AND REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF RGDC; KEN SEEGER, MWV SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
AND PRESIDENT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND LAND MANAGEMENT; CALDWELL PINCKNEY, BERKELEY
COUNTY COUNCIL; SC STATE SENATOR LARRY GROOMS; AND BERKELEY COUNTY SUPERVISOR DAN DAVIS.
distribution center in Berkeley
County will provide access to the
deepwater Port of Charleston,
which will allow TBC to receive
products from international as
well as domestic suppliers, sub-
sequently streamlining product
and inventory management to
the benefit of its customers.
TBC is a wholesale supplier to
independent regional tire retailers
and distributors throughout the
United States, Canada and Mexico.
Additionally, TBC’s wholesale group
operates Carroll Tire, a regional tire
wholesale distributor servicing in-
dependent tire dealers across the
United States. TBC’s retail group
operates more than 730 tire and
automotive service centers under
these brand names: Tire Kingdom,
Merchant’s Tire & Auto Centers and
NTB-National Tire & Battery. Th e
company also maintains nearly 500
franchise stores under the brand
Big O Tires.
TBC Corp. Selects Charleston for 1.1 Million-Square-Foot Distribution Center
S.C. Dredging, Deepening Advance
South Carolina’s seaports in
Charleston and Georgetown —
as well as its coastal waterways
— stand to gain more than $17
million in additional funding for
channel deepening and main-
tenance dredging following re-
cent action in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
Th e U.S. House has approved
the joint Senate and House con-
ference report on the Energy and
Water Appropriations Bill. For
South Carolina, the bill includes
funding for the resumption of the
Charleston Harbor Deepening
reconnaissance study, as well as
as well as maintenance dredging
projects in Charleston Harbor,
the Cooper River, Georgetown
and the Atlantic Intracoastal
Waterway
The Port of Charleston is
currently 47 feet deep at mean
low water in the entrance chan-
nel and 45 feet deep inside the
harbor. Charleston’s channels
have the opportunity to go even
deeper, thanks to the funding
for the resumption of a re-
connaissance study on future
deepening.
“With 45 feet at low water,
Charleston already has the re-
gion’s deepest channels and ac-
commodates post-Panamax ships
today,” said Jim Newsome, SCSPA
president and CEO. “Th e next
deepening will take Charleston
beyond 45 and 47 feet, open-
ing the port to all classes of the
world’s most modern vessels. We
are ready for the Panama Canal
expansion and beyond.”
Currently, the Port of Charleston
can handle vessels draft ing 43-feet
24-hours a day. Vessels drafting
as deep as 48 feet can be han-
dled two hours per day. This is
substantially greater capability
than any other South Atlantic
container port.
N + D 2009 • PortCharleston 9
Efficiency. Productivity. Competitive Price.• Graving docks for ships up to 750 ft. • Over 7,000 ft. of pier space• Excellent machine shop and mechanical capability • 15 years experience with UHP water blasting • 24/7 work week• Flexible cross-craft training
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Regal Logistics Opens Charleston Distribution Center
Regal Logistics has opened a
new distribution center at 1301-B
Charleston Regional Parkway in
Charleston. Th is expansion creates
a nationwide footprint for Regal as
a coast-to-coast operation with im-
port/export centers in the Pacifi c
Northwest and Southeast.
Off ering up to 200,000 square
feet of warehouse space, Regal’s
Charleston Distribution Center is
centrally located near major pier,
highway, rail and airport access.
Th e facility is situated within four
miles of the Port of Charleston’s
main Wando Welch Terminal
and Interstate 526; and 10 miles
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The Port Connection for transloading of overdimensional bulk break cargo such as turbines,
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Equipment based at the port includes a 400 Ton Gantry System that is permanently stationed on a railsite, a 500 Ton Shear-leg Derrick Crane on a barge that can service any of the Port’s
Terminals, (3) Hydraulic Platform Trailers, Prime Movers and other support equipment.
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IJim Newsome: Leading with Enthusiasm and Optimism
BY BETSY HARTER
It’s tempting for any new leader to point out everything that an organization has been doing wrong. But James I. Newsome III, new South Carolina State Ports Authority’s president and CEO, would rather focus on what the Port of Charleston is doing right.
Newsome joined the SCSPA Sept. 1, 2009, bringing with him more than 30 years of experience leading intermodal shipping lines. His vast history as a customer of the Port of Charleston has allowed him to can-didly assess the port’s strengths and weaknesses. Fortunately, Newsome believes he has inherited an organization with many assets.
“First and foremost, the SCSPA is a strong organization with a dedi-cated group of people who want the port to be successful,” Newsome said. “They are backed up by a wonderful maritime community. These people all know what a port is, and more often than not they have fam-ily who have worked on the waterfront. They all take pride in doing this kind of work. I feel the tremendous camaraderie in this community.”
Newsome cited the Port of Charleston’s high productivity as an-other asset that will help it achieve long-term success. He said that other ports around the country use Charleston as a benchmark when measuring productivity.
Finally, he added, Charleston’s deep-water harbor makes it stand out among competitors.
“Ships are going to get a lot bigger, faster, and deep water is a criti-cal thing. This harbor can handle 90 percent of the ships that will be built in the future,” he said.
Newsome is not afraid to admit that despite the Authority’s many strengths, Charleston’s container volume is the lowest that it has been since 1999.
“Our strengths are great, but we have to produce results, and that is really where we need to focus,” he said.
Newsome sees opportunities for the Port of Charleston in three main areas: containers, breakbulk and cruise business.
Container:Newsome noted that both he and new SCSPA Chief Commercial Offi cer
Paul McClintock have a long history with some of the world’s largest con-tainer lines, including Hapag-Lloyd, Nedlloyd Lines and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. Newsome is hopeful that their combined experience at some of the world’s largest container lines will be a feather in Charleston’s cap.
“Just 20 container lines in the world control 90 percent of the world’s cargo,” Newsome said. “Paul and I come from these shipping lines — we know these people and understand the pressures they are under. We will be in touch closely with them and will market our services effectively.”
Breakbulk:Newsome also was quick to point out the port’s growing breakbulk
business. With Brad Stroble now serving as SCSPA sales and market-ing manager of Bulk, Breakbulk and Project Cargo, Newsome expects a continued increase in this area.
“It is important for us to bolster our breakbulk presence, cars be-ing one commodity, as well as other breakbulk commodities,” he said.
Cruise:Over the last year, SCSPA leaders also have been more aggressive in go-
ing after the cruise business. Newsome agreed that this strategy is right for Charleston. Since Newsome’s arrival, the SCSPA and the city of Charleston have been working collaboratively on a plan to upgrade the Passenger Terminal to more effectively meet new security requirements, as well as to better serve the market needs of its cruise customers. Additionally, the Port of Charleston has inked a deal with Carnival Cruise Lines, which will operate fi ve-, six- and seven-day voyages to the Bahamas and Key West, Fla., from the Port of Charleston’s Passenger Terminal.
In all three of these areas, Newsome plans to increase the Port of Charleston’s personal contact with customers in an overall effort to step up customer service.
“Having been a customer of the port, I can say that this port does give very good customer service,” he said. “If you talk to most major lines, you will fi nd that they think it works well. We need to continue that.”
Newsome said he plans to implement customer service training across the entire organization, empowering employees to best meet customer needs.
“I am very encouraged by what I have seen in the short time I have been here,” he said. “I look forward to working with this talented group of people to get us on the right track and show everyone what we are able to do.”
profi le waterfront personalities
S + O 2009 • PortCharleston 17
JIM NEWSOME
As a child, James I. Newsome III spent every weekend on Savannah’s waterfront with his father, who served as the Georgia Ports Authority’s di-rector of operations for more than 25 years. Newsome’s interest in the ship-ping industry continued through high school, prompting him to enroll in the University of Tennessee, which boasted one of the few — and best — transpor-tation programs in the country.
While earning both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in transporta-tion and logistics from UT, Newsome worked during the summers at Strachan Shipping in Savannah. He enjoyed the job so much that, upon graduation from UT, he accepted a permanent position with the company. There, he was presi-dent of their Hoegh Lines Agencies subsidiary in Jersey City, NJ.
After 10 years with Strachan, Newsome was ready to move back to the Southeast. A position with Nedlloyd Lines in Atlanta enticed him to change companies. He remained with Nedlloyd for the next 10 years, eventually be-coming the fi rst non-Dutch executive, followed by president of the Americas region. Upon Nedlloyd’s merger with P&O, Newsome joined Hapag-Lloyd as senior vice president of the South, a position that enabled his family to stay in Atlanta. He became president of North America on Jan. 1, 2009, and he soon assumed responsibility for Latin America.
“Few opportunities in the world would have caused me to look twice at a new job, but this position at the Port of Charleston was certainly one of them,” Newsome said. “I felt like it was a great opportunity to come to this part of the country and run a fi rst-class operation.”
18 N + D 2009 • PortCharleston
Blackhawk Logistics: A Logistics Solutions Partner for Companies of All Sizes
BY BETSY HARTER
JJerry Ward has always understood that a mom-and-pop company has very different transportation challenges than a big-box retailer. He founded Blackhawk Logistics on the simple prem-ise that no two companies’ logistics needs are the same. So, Ward and his team set out to offer customized logistics solutions to customers of all sizes, across all industries. In so doing, Blackhawk Logistics has built up a robust customer base that ranges from some of the larg-est chain stores, such as Wal-Mart and QVC, down to local start-up operations.
Blackhawk Logistics opened its doors in September 2005 with a 100,000-square-foot facility and two trucks. The company outgrew the space in less than six months and moved to its current location on North Rhett Avenue in North Charleston the following February. Blackhawk Logistics now operates a 511,000-square-foot facility in-side 34 fenced acres with 24/7 security. Their trucking operation has grown to more than a dozen trucks.
“We continuously work to understand our customer’s needs, as well as what our customer’s customer needs,” Ward said. “Our claim to fame is that there is nothing we can’t do for a customer. ‘No’ is not an option.”
When Ward says his company will do anything a customer re-quests, he means it. One holiday season, Blackhawk built, fi lled and shipped point-of-purchase pajama displays to every Wal-Mart in the
United States: 5,500 stores.Blackhawk offers custom logistics
services to an impressive list of other large national retailers, manufactur-ers and suppliers. For instance, the company provides order fulfi llment and pick-and-pack services for many infomercial products that are shipped direct-to-consumer and also to Home Shopping Network, Amazon.com and QVC. In 2008, just with UPS alone, Blackhawk shipped half a million orders of infomercial products such as The Perfect Pushup, Bender Ball,
Worx Yard Tools and the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter.Most recently, Blackhawk has been helping start-up businesses
get off the ground by creating custom logistics solutions. For in-stance, Blackhawk fills and ships orders for Twelve South, a Mount Pleasant-based company that designs and manufactures accessories exclusively for Apple computers. The company, which launched in August, designs all of its products at its Mount Pleasant location. The accessories are then manufactured in China and shipped di-rectly to Blackhawk.
Early on, Twelve South owners Andrew and Leigh Ann Green con-sidered shipping their products direct-to-consumer themselves.
distributionprofi le
“We are so happy we didn’t do that,” Leigh Ann Green said. “We started from day one utilizing Blackhawk for distribution. One week after we signed on to work with Blackhawk, a container load of goods showed up at the warehouse.”
Blackhawk ships all products that are ordered from Twelve South’s Web site direct to consumers. The company also fulfi lls orders to large retail customers and global dis-tributors. Apple Stores, Best Buy and Amazon.com now carry Twelve South products, and all are fulfi lled directly from Blackhawk.
Blackhawk Logistics’ services do not stop at fulfi llments. The com-pany also provides local and regional drayage and transportation for its warehouse and non-warehousing customers. Ward and his team have successfully handled the warehousing and storage of many types of products and packaging, including paper, chemicals, automotive parts, consumer commodities, food and beverage, rubber, textiles and many other products. The Blackhawk team handles packaging of car-tons, pallets, totes, rolls, super sacks, drums, gaylords, slip sheets and bagged product.
Ward said the company specializes in handling overweight and HazMat containers. Blackhawk Logistics is one of the Port of Charleston’s HazMat-certifi ed storage handling facilities. The company employs an in-house staff member who is certifi ed to train and lead hazardous material certifi cation courses.
Blackhawk Logistics’ facility offers myriad amenities, including rail service at one of its buildings. The buildings, which are made of insu-lated concrete panels, have 100% sprinkler protection, ADT security and a six-inch reinforced concrete super fl at fl oor system. The facili-ties have 45 loading doors for trucks and 20 for rail cars. Additionally, Blackhawk provides a certifi ed, fully-automated multi-axle truck scale, which is open to the public 24/7 for a $5 fee.
But Ward maintains that Blackhawk is not just a warehouse service pro-vider to customers, but rather a true supply chain solution partner.
“Over the years, people have stereotyped warehouse companies in a category: companies that have a warehouse and a forklift that store and ship products for customers. That is not all that a ware-house and distribution logistics facility can do. We provide a turn-key supply chain solution to our partners, which is what logistics truly means.”
“
”
We continuously work to under-stand our cus-tomer’s needs.
– Jerry Ward, owner,
Blackhawk Logistics
XXXBLACKHAWK LOGISTICS
N + D 2009 • PortCharleston 19
20 N + D 2009 • PortCharleston
company profi leprofi le
FFor nearly 20 years, David Blair and his team at Charleston Freight Station have provided container freight station
services for the Port of Charleston’s customers. A lot has changed in that
time, but one thing remains constant: a strong commitment to superior
service, from source to destination.
A U.S. Customs bonded warehouse, CFS off ers a laundry list of im-
port/export services to its customers, including loose cargo transfer
and breakdown, ocean import cargo, full container and LCL container
services, trailer and intermodal conveyance, cargo segregation, heavy
forklift service, crate disposal and fumigation.
But if you ask Blair what his specialty is, he has just one word: speed.
“We can move 45,000 pounds
before they even fax the paperwork
to us,” he said. “It’s all about rapid
movement of cargo, fast freight re-
location. It’s that simple.”
Yet, all that goes on behind the
scenes at CFS is not simple at all.
Th e CFS team works around the
clock to accommodate customers’
unique requests and needs.
“Our business is not just about
taking cargo out and putting it
back,” Blair said. “Our employees
are specialists who act almost as
freight psychiatrists, fi guring out
how the cargo can get where it’s going with the fewest interruptions. We
can look into the future and anticipate what our customers will need.”
Although the company’s offi cial hours are Monday through Friday,
8 a.m.-5 p.m., Blair and his team work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Our gates are open any time, with advance notice,” Blair said. “We
don’t stop, because the steamship industry doesn’t stop. We are open
when our customers are open.”
Th e convenient hours accommodate many shippers, whose trucks
oft en arrive in Charleston during the wee hours of the morning.
In addition to its commercial services, CFS also has been the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection’s designated Central Examination Station
in the Port of Charleston since 1996.
“Th e CES designation means that we receive and handle cargo that
requires examination prior to U.S. Customs release,” Blair explained.
Th e CFS facility receives, handles and examines cargo that contains
imported and exported products. CFS has a U.S. Customs and Border
Protection offi ce on site that is staff ed fi ve days a week by inspectors,
who perform all types of Customs examinations, while an automated
CES program tracks exams and containers.
Since Blair founded CFS on Daniel Island 19 years ago, the company
has experienced many changes. On the infrastructure side, CFS has un-
dergone several expansions to accommodate a growing customer base.
Now, the 5.5-acre property includes a 50,000-square-foot warehouse
with 22 loading positions, as well as a 3-acre paved parking yard, se-
cured with barbed wire, a gate and a 24-hour guard.
Th e company is in the process of increasing its ability to handle
climate-controlled cargo. By the end of the year, it will triple the num-
ber of reefer plugs on the premises from 12 to 36 receptacles.
“We like to be ready for whatever comes our way, so we are adding
more reefer plugs in anticipation of easily handling large companies
that need to let climate-controlled cargo sit for a few days before it
goes to the port,” Blair said.
CFS already handles several types of cargo that require reefer plugs,
including pharmaceuticals, apples, pears, peaches and asparagus. Th ese
products must be held at constant controlled temperatures.
“We continuously monitor the set and run temperatures for our
customers, and we are dedicated to ensuring top-notch quality and
safety for temperature-sensitive cargo, whether it is on premises for
several hours, or several days.”
In addition to facility upgrades, CFS also changed some of its busi-
ness practices to become more environmentally sound. For example,
CFS has lowered its own emissions by using only low sulfur diesel fuel
in its equipment, and Blair plans to move to electric alternatives as time
and cost permit.
“We choose truck-
ing partners such as
Bulldog Express, who
have shown a similar
commitment to green
practices,” Blair said.
“We and our part-
ners are conscious of
cleaning up the envi-
ronment; we are con-
cerned about emis-
sions and are doing
something about it.”
At 59, Blair has no
plans to slow down,
especially aft er a pro-
ductive month like this
one, which gleaned
three new customers.
He attributes recent success to a re-energized port community, thanks to
new leadership by SCSPA President and CEO Jim Newsome.
“Jimmy Newsome is 100 percent upbeat and encouraging and he is
building everyone’s confi dence back up about the Port of Charleston,”
After spending more than a year developing a strategic communica-tions plan, New Carolina’s Transportation, Distribution and Logistics (TDL) Cluster has launched a plan that aims to secure the competi-tiveness of South Carolina’s TDL industry while increasing prosperity for residents of the state.
New Carolina — also known as South Carolina’s Council on Competitiveness — is a public-private partnership working to increase per capita income and enhance South Carolina’s economic competitiveness through a cluster development strategy. The organization launched the TDL Cluster in February 2008 to provide a formal structure for TDL companies to collaborate and address current issues impacting South Carolina’s industry. Since its inception, companies in the Cluster have united to increase effi ciency and innovation within the TDL in-dustry and to work on improving competitiveness on a regional, national and international front.
of interest to Port of Charleston clients including
policy changes, new service capabilities, and
special event notices such as those associated
with holidays, security, and weather matters.
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Missing link“South Carolina has the necessary assets to compete with any state,”
noted Neil McLean, a consultant with New Carolina. “One missing link is that we must become as organized as states such as Georgia have been in terms of focusing on attracting TDL business. We need coordination amongst the private sector, government and public agencies because South Carolina can be more competitive if we all work together.”
Cluster Co-Chair Deepal Eliatamby, president of Alliance Consulting Engineers, recently presented the Cluster’s plan to a crowd of 150 eco-nomic development leaders from across the state.
“The purpose of the plan is to promote a greater understand-ing of the critical nature of the TDL Cluster and its impact on South Carolina’s overall economy,” Eliatamby said.
The plan outlines fi ve main goals and strategies to accomplish over the course of the next 18 months, including raising awareness and recruiting stakeholders; marketing the importance of the Cluster; establishing a TDL council composed of industry and government members; and raising funds to support the Cluster’s growth, devel-opment and projects.
“With the launch of the plan, the TDL Cluster aims to bring to-gether the resources required to develop the critical vision, organiza-tion, infrastructure, process and marketing that will result in bolstering South Carolina’s economic momentum and global competitiveness,” Eliatamby said.
McLean added that the most important points for companies and government leaders to realize right now are:
1. South Carolina is losing ground to competitors.2. South Carolina’s TDL industry is a huge job creator and has a
signifi cant impact on not only the counties surrounding the Port of Charleston, but every county in the state.
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Locations:3. South Carolina has all the assets needed to have a competitive
and strong TDL industry right now: world-class ports, effi cient highway and rail systems, and large warehousing and distribution projects along Interstate 26 and Interstate 95. Most notable among the developments is Orangeburg’s “Global Logistics Triangle” bounded by I-26, I-95 and U.S. Highway 301, and anchored by the Jafza project.
4. South Carolina has a huge opportunity in the next three to four years, as the new port terminal will coincide with the widen-ing of the Panama Canal, which will bring more traffic to the East Coast from China and other major exporting countries. Also, the upswing in the construction of distribution centers will reach a crescendo over the next few years.
“For us to take advantage of all of these opportunities, we must get organized,” McLean said. “Creating a TDL council and an industry cluster that is organized across the port, trucking industry, rail, govern-
South Carolina’s TDL Cluster Sets Goals:Goal One: Establish the importance of the Cluster. Why should people care?
Strategy: We must do what we can immediately to quantify the impact of the TDL Cluster. South Carolinians must understand that everyone relies on Transportation, Distribution and Logistics — directly or indirectly — for their livelihoods.
Goal Two: Inventory the differentiating assets of South Carolina’s TDL Cluster and catalogue the liabilities as well.
Strategy: Demonstrate the known attributes and further potential of the state’s TDL resources. Present what needs to be improved and/or fi xed, as well as the upside of supporting the Cluster with investment and enthusiasm. Show the tragic result of failing to do so.
Goal Three: Raise awareness of the TDL Cluster among important constituencies.
Strategy: Recruit important entities and individuals — both private and public — to become allies and active participants. Expand the num-ber of powerful funding and participating stakeholders.
Goal Four: Organize to advocate for TDL.Strategy: Create an organization to represent the TDL Cluster
comprised of powerful participants and allies and with suffi cient funding to operate effectively and to achieve permanence.
SOUTH CAROLINA HAS TREMENDOUS VALUE IN IT’S ABILITY TO UNIQUELY AND EFFICIENTLY CONNECT STATE INDUSTRY AND CONSUMERS TO GLOBAL
MARKETS VIA HIGHWAY, RAIL AND SEA. THE PORT OF CHARLESTON IS ALREADY ABLE TO HANDLE POST-PANAMAX VESSELS, YEARS IN ADVANCE OF THE
PANAMA CANAL EXPANSION COMPLETION.
T RUUSTLUC UST
ment support agencies and developers will unite folks around a table so we can decide what it takes to win.”
Rusty Reed, vice president of business development for the South Carolina Power Team, noted the importance of the TDL Cluster in uniting economic development agencies from around the state in or-der to support the TDL industry. The South Carolina Power Team is the economic development alliance of the state-owned electric utility Santee Cooper and the state’s 20 electric cooperatives, which together provide power to more than two million South Carolinians.
“Counties as far away as Pickens County mention how important the Port of Charleston is to the Upstate, because the majority of what is produced in the Upstate is exported out of Charleston,” Reed said.
ATS Logistics President and CEO James Gianoukos echoed Reed’s remarks.
Getting everyone on board“The good folks in the Upstate will be the first ones to tell you
that they benefit from the Port of Charleston. Our port has very far-reaching effects,” Gianoukos said. “The main thing is that busi-nesses choose our state — no matter which county they choose, they will most likely utilize the Port of Charleston, which benefits local businesses, trucking companies, warehouses, everyone.”
J. Richards Todd, South Carolina Trucking Association (SCTA) president, said that the best way to get all South Carolina residents on board with the TDL plan is for all people who are involved in transportation to promote the importance of the supply chain to their friends, families and neighbors. Doing so will help coun-ter misleading information coming from groups that hinder TDL
development and growth. Next, the industry must educate elect-ed leaders and ask them to support projects that encourage TDL growth.
“Our legislators must know why we need to expand I-26, to make sure the ports’ intermodal connections are adequate and efficient,” Todd said. “We need to continuously improve highway and rail. We need to look at realistic timetables, realistic resource allocation, and sit down and figure out a way to make it happen.”
Over the next six months, the TDL Cluster intends to present the plan at events in Charleston, Greenville, Orangeburg and Florence, gathering feedback and support to stand up an organization that will represent and champion for the TDL industry going forward.
“Transportation is the foundation of South Carolina’s economy, impacting virtually every industry sector, directly or indirectly,” said Paul G. McClintock, South Carolina State Ports Authority se-nior vice president and chief commercial officer. “South Carolina must continue to enhance its competitive position in this industry through development of new port, transportation and distribution capacity. Collaboration within the logistics Cluster will position us to take advantage of tremendous opportunities for economic growth in South Carolina.”
The Cluster now has more than 40 participants from industry, gov-ernment, education, and trade groups. Cluster members include the SCSPA, SCTA, South Carolina Department of Commerce, South Carolina Department of Transportation, World Trade City Orangeburg, Hillwood Investment Properties, South Carolina Power Team, ATS Logistics, Milliken, Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Orangeburg County Development Commission, Engineered Products and WSI of the Southeast, to name a few.
N + D 2009 • PortCharleston 27
MANY PROMINENT INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS HAVE ALSO RECOGNIZED THE VALUE OF SOUTH CAROLINA’S TRANSPORTATION, DISTRIBUTION
AND LOGISTICS CLUSTER. APPROXIMATELY 25 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF CLASS-A INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTS ARE ON THE BOOKS TO COME ONLINE IN
THE NEXT 8-10 YEARS. THIS AVAILABLE BUILDING BY REAL ESTATE GIANT LAUTH PROPERTIES, IS LOCATED JUST A FEW MILES FROM PORT FACILITIES.
Working together to advance the industry“The cooperation and collaboration of Cluster participants thus
far has been very impressive considering the depth and breadth of the industry,” said George Fletcher, executive director of New Carolina. “The TDL industry has so many moving parts and in-dustry niches, but Cluster participants have really come together to move this initiative forward and to advance the industry in South Carolina to the next level.”
The afterword in the TDL Cluster’s communications plans stresses that the next fi ve years are critical for the future of the TDL Cluster and, by defi nition, critical for the entire South Carolina economy.
“We can act in concert and make good decisions now, reversing recent setbacks and recovering the economic momentum of a mere half-decade past. Or we can suffer the consequences,” it reads.
The plan encourages industry leaders to pull together in order to form a cooperative economic development entity, and to invest
financially in funding the TDL Cluster and its goals.“We need to invest in the Port of Charleston. We must sup-
port the growth of distribution centers across our state, improv-ing infrastructure and incenting companies in order to succeed in growing our economy. We must support our world class truck-ing sector while upgrading our rail options. We need an organi-zation to do all this (and more) as well as to market our success. If we do all of this, we can regain our place as an economic de-velopment champion, competing for growth in the 21st centu-ry. This plan is a place to start and a road map to the future,” it concludes.
A copy of the Cluster’s plan, “Transportation, Distribution and Logistics: A Plan to Ignite the Cluster,” can be downloaded from the New Carolina Web site at http://www.newcarolina.org. To get in-volved with the TDL Cluster’s activities, contact Katherine Robinson at 866-966-0344 or [email protected].
Direct Services by Terminal by Deployment GroupingThis listing indicated direct service calls in/out of Charleston. Many of these carriers also off er transshipment options that will move your
cargo anywhere in the world. Please contact to your ocean carrier about transshipment options.
Carrier Service Rotation and Vessel information obtained from Compair Data Inc., Oct.16, 2009
Term Service Name Participating Carriers Trade Route Foreign Port Rotation # VslsAvg TEU Size Freq
CS AWE-3 COSCO / "K" Line / Yang Ming
/ Hanjin
Asia via Pan Kaohsiung / Hong Kong / Yantian / Busan / Charleston / Kaohsiung 8 4,516 Weekly
CS TAS-1 Evergreen TAE / CKYH North Europe Antwerp / Bremerhaven / Rotterdam / Le Havre / Charleston / Antwerp 4 2,710 Weekly
CS North America Service NSCSA Mediterranean /
MidE / ISC
Dubai / Abu Dhabi / Karachi / Mumbai (Old Port) / Jeddah / Leghorn / Charleston / Halifax / Port
Said / Jeddah / Muscat / Dubai
4 2,310 25 days
CS Andino European Service
mpc
BBC North Europe / WCSA Hamburg / Antwerp / Bilbao / Charleston / Guayaqui l / Puerto Bolivar / Callao / Antofagasta /
Valparaiso
- - Monthly
NC INDAMEX CMA CGM / APL / Hapag-
Lloyd / ANL / NYK / OOCL
Med / MidE / ISC Karachi / Mumbai / Mundra / Damietta / Charleston / Port Said / Jeddah / Karachi 7 4,267 Weekly
NC NUE Evergreen Line / MOL Asia / Cen Am Busan / Shanghai / Ningbo / Qingdao / Cristobal / Charleston / Cristobal / Los Angeles / Oakland /
Tokyo / Busan
9 4,227 Weekly
NC Gulf Atlantic Express-GAX Grand Alliance / ACL North Europe Antwerp / Thamesport / Bremerhaven / Charleston / Antwerp 5 3,207 Weekly
NC ATX Grand Alliance / Zim / ACL /
Hamburg Sud
North Europe Rotterdam / Hamburg / Le Havre / Southampton / Charleston / Rotterdam 4 4,265 Weekly
WW Americas Service CSAV / CCNI / Hamburg Sud C Am / NCSA / WCSA Charleston / Cartagena / Manzanillo / Guayaquil / Callao / San Antonio / San Vicente / Callao /
Guayaquil / Cartagena / Charleston
6 2,544 Weekly
WW East Coast Americas Ham Sud / Al / CSAV / Libra ECSA / NCSA Charleston / Puerto Cabello / Suape / Santos / Buenos Aires / Rio Grande / Navegantes / Rio de
Janeiro / Santos / Salvador / Suape / Pecem / Charleston
7 3,439 Weekly
WW TA2 / Atlantic South Maersk Line / New World
Alliance
North Europe Rotterdam / Felixstowe / Bremerhaven / Charleston / Rotterdam 5 4,082 Weekly
Asia / C Am / Europe Bremerhaven / Felixstowe / Rotterdam / Le Havre / Halifax / Balboa / Kaohsiung / Da Chan Bay /
Yantian / Hong Kong / Busan / Yokohama / Balboa / Charleston / Bremerhaven
12 4,933 Weekly
WW Intra-America 1 MSC / CSAV / Hapag-Lloyd Carib / C Am / ECSA Charleston / Freeport / Caucedo / Santos / Montevideo / Rio Grande / Santos / Rio de Janeiro /
Suape / Caucedo / Freeport / Charleston
7 3,443 7 days
WW West Med / North Atlantic MSC / COSCO Mediterranean Naples / La Spezia / Valencia / Sines / Charleston / Valencia / Naples 6 4,354 Weekly
WW USATLAN MSC / CSAV / Libra ECSA Charleston / Santos / Buenos Aires / Montevideo / Rio Grande / Sao Francisco do Sul / Rio de
Janeiro / Suape / Charleston
8 3,266 Weekly
WW American Express-AMEX MSC / Safmarine / Maersk
Line
Africa / Carib Charleston / Freeport / Cape Town / Port Elizabeth / Durban / Cape Town / Charleston 8 2,634 8 days
WW APX New World Alliance / Ever-
green Line / Maersk
Asia / C Am / North
Europe
Chiwan / Hong Kong / Kaohsiung / Busan / Kobe / Tokyo / Balboa / Manzanillo / Charleston / Rot-
TRANSPORTATIONQUALITY SERVICES WITH SUPERIOR RESULTS
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