Port Efficiency & Productivity

• In 2007, the Port of Charleston handled 1.75 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
• With deep, wide channels and a short traveling distance, Charleston's facilities allow ships to spend minimal time in-port.
• Charleston is one of only a handful of ports to have received the Presidential "E" and "E-Star" awards for excellence in exporting.
• The Port of Charleston is recognized worldwide as an efficiency leader and was named by shipping giant Maersk as the most productive in the world.
• Average crane lifts per hour per crane top 40 moves, and trucker turn times average 20 minutes at all common use gates.

Port Technology

• The Port uses the ORION computer system to expedite the cargo clearance process (most cleared up to three days prior to arrival).
• The Port's Yard Management System provides up-to-date information on cargo shipments and more effectively makes use of the port's container yards.
• Several kinds of security technology are in place at the Port of Charleston:
  • Radiation Portal Monitors scan 100% of containers leaving the terminal
  • VACIS machines screen targeted cargo on-site
  • The new OmniView Gantry X-ray Inspection System - the only one of its kind in use for commercial screening at ports - provides further screening capabilities for port security officials.

Geography & Trade Routes

• Charleston's port terminals are closer to the open sea than any competing port by a significant margin.
• Northern Europe and Asia are the Port's top markets, combining for 53% of total volume, but more than 150 countries in all are served directly from the port's docks.
• Although shippers in two dozen states use Charleston to access international customers and suppliers, 45% of tonnage and about one-third of containers are related to South Carolina firms.

Percentage of Total Volume - 2006