South Carolina Ports will pause operations at the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal on August 1 and move its cargo to two older Charleston terminals.
The terminal is only five years old and cost $1.2 billion, but it has never come close to filling up. It handled less than 5% of the port’s container business last year. The port says it costs more to operate than the older terminals, so shifting the cargo elsewhere saves money.
Why it costs more: Leatherman’s cranes are operated by International Longshoremen's Association members. The port’s other terminals use lower-cost state employees.
To cover the difference, the port added a fee to every container moving through Charleston. That fee rose 80% last fall to $17.85 a box.
State Sen. Larry Grooms, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, said more cargo won’t solve the problem. “This is one that volume won’t fix. Volume makes it worse,” he said. The port projects revenue and expenses falling about 8% next fiscal year to $369 million and $361 million, respectively.
How it got here: Leatherman opened in 2021 during a three-year dispute with the ILA over whether union members or state workers would run its cranes. The Supreme Court declined to hear the port’s appeal in early 2024. Carriers largely stayed away during the dispute, and even after it ended, most ships kept calling at the older Wando Welch terminal.
The bigger picture: Charleston is cutting capacity while its neighbors expand.
Savannah just opened a second berth that lifts one terminal from 200,000 to 1.75 million containers a year, plus a $134 million inland port
The Port of Los Angeles is spending $302.2 million on capital projects even as its volumes fall
Charleston moved 2.8 million containers last year, against 5.8 million at Savannah and 4 million at Houston
What's next: There is no reopening date. CEO Micah Mallace declined to put a number on the savings, and the port will maintain the empty terminal. Most of the five ships a week that call there will shift to North Charleston.
