The South Carolina Ports Authority (SPA) won’t give information about who is using the port, but at least one company, Adidas, has confirmed that it is a customer.
GSA Business reported last week that Adidas was using the Inland Port, and Adidas spokesperson Lauren Lamkin told UBJ that its Spartanburg distribution center began using the port earlier this month.
BMW was announced as the anchor customer before the port opened in October and the ports authority had undertaken the aggressive marketing campaign in the Upstate and beyond South Carolina it promised in the months leading up to the port’s opening.
Overall the agency reported a 5.4 percent drop in 20-foot equivalent units of cargo (TEUs) from October to November, but a 6.1 percent increase over November 2012. For the calendar year, container traffic was up 6.4 percent.
Exports were strong, with shipments of agricultural products, particularly grain, being a significant driver of those gains.
SPA spokesperson Erin Pabst said terminal-specific information was unavailable, so it was not possible to determine exactly how the Inland Port affected the latest figures.
“We’re pleased with the growth at the Inland Port thus far, and we will continue to add new customers,” she said. “We plan to move about 40,000 containers at the Inland Port initially.” Officials have said the port could be expanded to handle 100,000 containers eventually and construction at the site continues, though it is now fully operational.
