North Carolina Ports look to strengthen links in supply chains

Growth in reefer and intermodal business remain keys to East Coast competitive edge.

With record statistics reported for fiscal year 2024, the North Carolina State Ports Authority is not content to simply rest on its impressive achievements. Rather, NC Ports executives are eager to continue their successful business momentum with a robust plan that aims to target weak links in supply chains. An important part of the plan is a focus on the current growth of cold chain/reefer and intermodal cargo being transported from North Carolina ports to locations throughout the country. Along with continued growth in tonnage, NC Ports has also focused on leveraging its diversified services to appeal to more shippers, allowing NC Ports to become a strong competitor for business in established East Coast trade routes.

Safety, Security, and Supply Chains

In recent years, safety and security issues have become higher priorities among shippers who are already faced with challenges that have created supply chain obstacles and financial burdens. According to Brian E. Clark, Executive Director at North Carolina Ports, one way for shippers to address supply chain disruption is to optimize their supply chain networks.

“One of the challenges facing the industry is the ability for carriers to optimize their networks and trade corridors. As a result of significant disruption over the last several years, the industry, as a whole has been in a state of chaos, and on-time reliability is at an all-time low. Shippers and ocean carriers must be vigilant in optimizing their supply chain networks, putting a premium on flexibility, efficiency, and resiliency, so that their vessel services and port operations can move fluidly,” Clark asserted.

He added, “Tapping into alternative ports and deploying a diversified gateway strategy can offer ocean carriers and shippers more flexibility and reliability and can have a positive impact on improving supply chain performance.”

On the issues of safety and security at NC Ports, Clark pointed out improvements since the collapse of the bridge at the Port of Baltimore.

“There has certainly been more attention on safety since the bridge collapse both within the industry and across government entities. There was a very quick response and regular communication to support the Port of Baltimore and to ensure minimal supply chain disruptions across the East Coast. But just as crucial, we have seen increased assessment of potential risks and infrastructure analysis, along with contingency planning, since the incident.”

As part of their commitment to safety at NC Ports, Clark said, “One of our core values is safety, and our team is committed to ensuring safety is first in everything we do and every decision we make. We have built a safety-focused culture by always seeking opportunities for continuous improvement. For example, we have optimized our terminal and cargo flow design, and will continue to do so, to ensure it creates the safest environment possible for our employees, port partners, and port users.”

Cold Chain Growth a Hot Topic in NC

Among the various types of cargo arriving and departing from both ports in North Carolina, statistics show approximately 80 percent is transported via truck. When asked about the kinds of commodities transported, Clark reported, “We have a broad mix of cargo commodities and a balanced mix of containerized and general cargo. Our cargo mix includes agriculture products, industrial products, building materials, paper and fiber, apparel and textiles, furniture and home goods, appliances, rubber, and fresh produce.”

NC Ports reported, “The Ports of Wilmington and Morehead City moved a total of almost 4.2 million short tons of bulk and breakbulk cargo in FY24, finishing the year 5% over budget. Both ports handled substantial volumes of natural rubber, steel, lumber, cement, wood chips and wood pellets, supporting everything from U.S. infrastructure, aerospace, and the region’s growing automotive industry.”

As growth continues in cold chain cargo transportation, NC Ports continues its efforts to keep pace with growing demands from the shipping industry. This has led to an increase in the amount of produce items imported, as well as an increase in the number of new trial programs that, if successful, may serve to “solidify confidence in the port’s ability to handle sensitive refrigerated cargo, while delivering significant cost savings and supply chain advantages.”

When considering the factors that are contributing to the cold chain growth in North Carolina, Clark explained, “There are a number of factors contributing to North Carolina Ports’ cold chain growth. The Port of Wilmington is unique in that it has an equal balance of imports and exports. This means the repositioning of empty equipment, which is often required to serve supply chains via other ports, is not necessary in this market. North Carolina has a robust agriculture industry with strong exports such as sweet potatoes and frozen proteins.”

He continued, “On the import side, several large grocery retailers and distributors have identified the Port of Wilmington as an efficient alternative to some of the traditional cold chain gateways to the north and south. This has led to an increase of import produce, both with established programs including bananas, pineapples, and blueberries, and new trial programs, including apples, melons, and additional tropical fruits and vegetables. The Port of Wilmington is also servicing North Carolina’s growing life sciences industry.”

Clark added, “There has been significant cold chain investment inside and outside the Port of Wilmington’s gates. On terminal, we now offer more than 1,500 reefer plugs with the ability to increase that number as we expand the Port of Wilmington’s container terminal. Outside of our gates, a significant new cold storage facility is set to come online less than a mile away from port gates in late September. The first phase of this facility will bring 298,000 square feet of multi-suite cold storage space to the market. Another significant near-port cold storage facility opened earlier this year and is operated by Performance Team, a Maersk company. This facility is 285,000 square feet. Joint efforts with cold chain partners and government agencies, including Customs and Border Protection and USDA, have been essential in creating a seamless on-port inspection process.”

Better Tracking Gives Industry Something to Sea

Offering a suggestion for a new technology or digital advancement that would benefit the future of the shipping industry, Clark asserted that more attention to end-to-end visibility would be an industry improvement.

He pointed out, “Advancing standardized vessel and port performance metrics and reporting would benefit the shipping industry and would help to increase visibility for cargo interests. There have been recent efforts at improving supply chain tracking and reporting, and continued focus on providing this end-to-end visibility for all supply chain partners would be a positive improvement.”