FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12/14/2000
BRIDGE FUNDING - Also at Wednesday's Board meeting, State Sen. Arthur Ravenel requested that the Ports Authority contribute financially to construction of a new Cooper River Bridge.
CRANE REPAIRS - The Authority Board also authorized $2.3 million for Konecranes America, Inc. to perform structural and electrical repairs to three IHI container cranes. In October the Board approved $2.8 million in repairs to two IHI container cranes, one at North Charleston and one at the Wando Welch Terminal.
CRANE RELOCATION - At the December meeting the Ports Authority Board approved a $696,000 contract for Noell Crane and Service, Inc. to relocate one IHI post-panamax container crane to the North Charleston Terminal. This is the fourth crane relocation from the Wando Welch Terminal following the delivery of four new super-post-panamax Paceco/Hyundai container cranes in recent months and is the remaining phase of the crane relocation plan. In October, a contract was approved to move three Canron cranes from the Wando -- two to North Charleston and one to Columbus Street Terminal.
EXPORTS REBOUND - November container volume through the Port of Charleston was up 5% from the same month last year, and loaded export containers reached their highest level in five months. The number of loaded export containers increased 9% from the previous month, reaching 55,709 20-foot equivalent units in November. While exports have not returned to last fall's record-setting marks, the resurgence is positive news. Loaded imports remained constant with the previous month, and are up double digits on the fiscal year. Charleston's container business increased 8% through the first five months of the fiscal year, rising from 638,902 in last year's July-to-November period to 687,792 TEUs this year.