CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - The State Ports Authority is getting a $25 million federal grant to help expand the inland port in Greer.
The Post and Courier reports Friday that the grant is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The expansion at the inland port will allow more room to stack cargo containers, improve the rail tracks and a third line where Norfolk Southern trains can be marshaled before they are loaded.
The authority will also purchase two more cranes to move containers between trucks and trains.
The inland port in Greer links the Upstate to the Port of Charleston by rail.
Sen. Lindsey Graham called the grant “great news for manufacturers who use the inland port in Greer and the Port of Charleston.”
Jim Newsome, the authority’s president and CEO, said the inland port is expected to see a “significant increase” in volumes during the coming year as the nearby BMW plant exports more of its cars disassembled in metal containers.
The practice is known as knocked down or semi-knocked down vehicles, and can help avoid tariffs.
The Greer inland port opened in 2013. For its most recent fiscal year, which ended June 30, it handled a record 117,812 containers. That is 28.5 percent better than fiscal year 2016. During the first quarter of this fiscal year, the inland port has seen a 10 percent increase in cargo.
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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com
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