Future Cities
2022 Global Seaport Review: Charleston, South Carolina
Navigating evolving global seaport regions and their impact on industrial real estate
December 13, 2022 4 Minute Read
Charleston saw a 38% year-over-year increase in cargo. Dredging the harbor will allow the port to service post-Panamax vessels to better compete with other East Coast ports. The port is an economic driver for South Carolina and a major factor driving industrial real estate demand in Charleston and nearby Greenville.
Overview
The Port of Charleston is a top 10 U.S. container port spanning 200-plus acres. The port ranks 59th on the United Nations Port Liner Shipping Connectivity Index, making it one of the best-connected ports in the Southeast. Like other ports, Charleston saw an increase in shipments as West Coast ports were overloaded. The port plans to build near-dock rail—its currently the only East Coast port without one—and modernize and expand its terminals. In early 2021, Phase 1 of the greenfield Leatherman Terminal opened, adding 700,000 TEUs of capacity and the capability to handle 20,000-TEU-capacity ships.
Figure 1: TEU volumes
Source: CBRE Research, Port of Charleston, 2022.
Figure 2: Population demographics
Source: CBRE Demographics, 2022.
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ship-to-shore cranes now stand at the port's Wando Welch Terminal
Port features
The port has a harbor depth of up to 52 feet, making it the deepest harbor on the East Coast. It also includes 19 active container cranes, all of which are post-Panamax ready, and three container terminals. The port’s cold chain business has rapidly expanded, with refrigerated cargo movements growing 110% over the past decade. It has invested $73 million in cold storage capacity improvements.
Figure 3: Port details
Source: CBRE Research, Port of Charleston, 2022.
Trade partners
The port’s top trade partners include China, Germany, Vietnam, India and Belgium. South Carolina is home to major European automobile manufacturing plants and is a major trading partner with many European countries. Because of this, the Port of Hamburg is the international port most tied to Charleston.
Intermodal transportation
The CSX and Norfolk Southern railways both operate expansive and well-equipped rail yards connecting Charleston with hubs in the Southeast, Gulf and Midwest. Both railways are served by double-stack intermodal trains. While Charleston does not offer on-dock rail, it does provide cost-efficient connections between the marine terminals and rail yards via its RapidRail dray program.
Real estate influence
Charleston is one of the top emerging U.S. industrial markets, with record demand throughout most of 2022 and development topping 7 million sq. ft. at mid-year. Much of the new inventory is built on a speculative basis, as the market’s 0.5% vacancy rate is the third-lowest in the U.S.
Imports from the port flow into surrounding inland ports, including two located near Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina. Greenville’s central location between Charlotte and Atlanta, its robust manufacturing industry and connectivity to the port via rail and ground has made it one of the top emerging markets in the country, with 19 million sq. ft. of industrial space under construction, the 10th-largest amount in the U.S.
Figure 4: Industrial & logistics market stats
Source: CBRE Research, Q2 2022.
Explore Global Seaports by Port
The Port of Savannah—home to the largest single container terminal, the Garden City Terminal—is the fastest-growing port in the U.S.
The Port of New York/New Jersey ranks 37th on the United Nations Port Liner Shipping Connectivity Index, making it the best-connected port on the East Coast.
The Port of Manzanillo is the largest containerized port in Mexico and is considered the country’s most important due to its infrastructure and technology.
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