East Coast Port Competition
Can our state agency compete with large international shipping companies
taking containers on and off ships?
Let's look at the most recent example of private competition on the East
Coast.
Maersk opened up their own shipping terminal in Norfolk in August 2007. This state of the art facility has on dock rail service- giving it a big advantage over any container terminal in Charleston.
Maersk has used their own capital to build and operate this facility. Maersk has also been the largest customer of our State Ports Authority in Charleston.
In
2004, Maersk handled 50% of the container shipments in Charleston.
Will Maersk begin diverting some of their container shipments to their
own facility up the coast in Norfolk? Since their new terminal has opened
in Norfolk, container volume at Charleston has dropped significantly.
In Jacksonville, Hanjin Shipping is beginning to construct a new container
terminal.
Why does Governor Sanford and our state legislators favor having our
state agency compete with private enterprise? Do they really believe
a state agency can compete with large international shippers?
Our state leaders did not allow SSA, a private operator, to build a new terminal in Jasper County. They would rather have a state run monopoly continue to operate and use taxpayer dollars. Why?
We can expect further intense competition from more private port operators - and as taxpayers we should welcome port competition and push for privatizing our port operations in Charleston and in Jasper County.
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