Charleston is the second busiest port on the East Coast after New York and has similar container storage issues, industry officials say. Some of the biggest container depots are in the industrial Neck area of Charleston and North Charleston. Two years ago, we had 2,000 more. Global Intermodal Systems has a similar-sized depot a few blocks away. Across the harbor in Mount Pleasant, the State Ports Authority recently created a new 15-acre empty container area at its Wando Welch Terminal.
Special lifters stack the boxes seven high.
Some say all these containers could be dangerous. When the SPA built its empty yard at the Wando Welch Terminal, angry residents in neighboring Hidden Cove subdivision said they feared the containers could blow over into their houses in a storm. Others say they are eyesores. Those containers are horrible. North Charleston officials have been meeting with local container industry leaders to find ways to lessen the boxes' impact.