Last April, the South Carolina Ports Authority announced a large expansion project for Inland Port Greer. The project, slated to cost an estimated $28 million, has now started to take shape, with the first piece of the expansion completed.
Over 9,700 feet of additional track was added to the port’s rail system in this first phase. This extra rail will now allow the port the ability to unload 3 trains at a time, an expansion that will enable quicker unloading of products and speeding up supply chain processes. Additional storage rails were also added, increasing from 3 to now 5 rails, allowing the Greer, SC port to allow larger cargo trains into the cargo yard. Two years ago, Greer handled 140,000 rail units. With demand for offshore goods increasing exponentially in the past 2 years, this expansion will now enable the port to handle more than double that amount, to an estimated 300,000 units.
These new updates are just a portion of what has been planned for Inland Port Greer, according to the GSA Business Report. Additional updates will include building new maintenance buildings to service and repair yard equipment, the purchase of two new cranes, and expanding the cargo yard for great intake of cargo from the coastal ports. Finally, as these expansions are finalized, and activity ramped up further, the S.C. Ports Authority plans to hire additional staff to handle the increased capacity.
To keep cargo management and distribution times in mind, given increased demands, the South Carolina Ports Authority is working with an outside consultancy, Hamburg Port Consultancy, to verify if current expansions will indeed enable growth to the units estimated. HPC will review all expansions and current activity, to devise a plan for future recommend changes.
So, what does this mean for businesses?
For manufacturers and businesses, this increased capacity will lead to quicker turnaround times from coastal ports to your ultimate warehousing and distribution centers. This in turn will allow more products to reach consumers quicker, freeing up the backlog of supply chain issues we’ve been experiencing over the past 2 years.
As for GT Logistics, as we are located within a few miles of the Greer Inland Port, this expansion project will enable us to expand our operations for our current and future clients, enabling them to import quicker and in larger quantities than before. We are closely monitoring demand and storage capacity to respond to the additional needs of our SouthEast clients. We have staff on standby, offering 24/7 transload services. Our secure warehouse, with a capacity of 300,000 sq feet, is a bonded foreign trade zone with round-the-clock zone-to-zone transfers for our international trading clients. Whether you’re an international manufacturing facility, looking to house materials in our FTZ during production, or an e-commerce shop looking for a full supply chain logistics partner, our location is prime to benefit from these new expansions.
