SC Ports Pauses Leatherman Terminal Operations Aug 1

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The South Carolina Ports Authority (SC Ports) will suspend container operations at the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal effective August 1, shifting all cargo handling to the Wando Welch and North Charleston terminals. The Leatherman Terminal, which opened its first phase in 2021, processed only 75,455 containers during the first 11 months of the fiscal year, compared to over one million containers at Wando Welch. No reopening date was announced by port officials.

What Is the Full Scope of This Development?

SC Ports is consolidating all container operations from three Charleston-area terminals down to two, citing tempered freight volumes, an uncertain trade forecast, and the need to sharpen cost competitiveness. Expansion work at the Leatherman Terminal continues despite the operational pause, and SC Ports stated the consolidation will help retain current business while positioning the port to attract new customers for long-term growth. Both CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway provide rail service to the Port of Charleston, and SC Ports continues to operate Inland Port Greer (served by NS) and Inland Port Dillon (served by CSX), which are unaffected by the terminal consolidation.

Key Development Data

How Does This Compare to Industry Trends?

The Charleston consolidation unfolds against a sharply diverging U.S. port landscape. While Leatherman Terminal operated at under 10% of its designed capacity, the Port of Houston recorded its strongest monthly volume on record during the same period, underscoring a Gulf Coast surge driven by petrochemical and resin exports that has redirected container flows away from traditional East Coast gateways. (Source: Port Houston via MarineLink, 2025) This geographic volume shift mirrors broader freight market pressures: proposed Class I rail consolidation—including the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger under regulatory review—threatens to reduce intermodal competition serving Atlantic ports and raise shipping costs on routes already facing margin compression. (Source: U.S. freight rail analysis, 2025) The decision to pause a terminal still in active expansion also echoes earlier capacity overbuilds at U.S. ports during the pandemic-era import boom, where infrastructure added to absorb surge volumes now contends with demand normalisation and cargo shifting back to West Coast gateways following labour stability there.

Editor’s Analysis

SC Ports’ decision to idle Leatherman Terminal while simultaneously continuing its physical expansion reflects a difficult strategic hedge: the authority is betting that long-term Southeast container growth will eventually absorb the capacity, but near-term economics make operating a third Charleston terminal untenable. The 75,455-container throughput figure—against a terminal designed for phased capacity well into the hundreds of thousands—signals that shipper routing preferences and carrier network decisions have not validated the business case for a three-terminal Charleston footprint. With CSX and NS both serving the port’s inland network, the rail connectivity exists, but the freight volumes required to sustain Leatherman have not materialised. The lack of any announced reopening date, even as construction continues, introduces significant uncertainty for shipping lines evaluating long-term Charleston calls in their 2025-2026 network planning cycles.

FAQ

Q: Why is the Leatherman Terminal being shut down after only four years of operation?
A: The terminal handled just 75,455 containers in the first 11 months of the fiscal year—less than 10% of its designed capacity—while the Wando Welch terminal processed over one million containers. SC Ports stated the consolidation is necessary to maintain cost competitiveness amid weakening freight demand and trade uncertainty.

Q: When will the Leatherman Terminal resume operations?
A: No reopening date was officially disclosed by SC Ports. Expansion work on the terminal’s subsequent phases continues, suggesting the authority expects to reactivate the facility once market conditions improve, but no timeline commitment has been made.

Q: Will this consolidation affect rail service or inland port operations at Greer and Dillon?
A: SC Ports has not indicated any changes to Inland Port Greer or Inland Port Dillon operations. Both CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway continue to serve the Port of Charleston, and container movements through the two remaining active terminals will maintain rail connectivity to these inland facilities.