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The US South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) recorded a 1.4 percent increase during the first quarter of the 2017 fiscal year, with 520,276 TEUs crossing SPA docks from July to September, compared to 513,299 TEUs handled in the same period last year.

“Loaded container volume, particularly on the import side, supported SCPA’s growth for the first quarter of the fiscal year,” Jim Newsome, SCPA president and CEO, said.

Fiscal year to date, SCPA has handled 293,275 boxes at its North Charleston and Wando Welch container terminals.

SCPA’s non-containerized cargo volumes during the first quarter decreased by 8.6 percent, with Charleston handling 217,533 breakbulk tons between July and September, against 237,865 tons in the first quarter of 2016.

The port authority saw a 5.5 percent increase in its total loaded volumes, which amounted to 422,329 tons in the first quarter of 2017, against 400,224 tons in the same period last year.

In September, SCPA’s container throughput stood at 162,858 TEUs, compared to 167,549 TEUs in the same month in the 2016 fiscal year. As measured in pier containers, or box volume, SCPA moved 91,784 containers during the month.

SCPA owns and operates public seaport facilities in Charleston, Georgetown and Greer. During the 2016 fiscal year ended June 30, SCPA handled 1.9 million TEUs, an increase of 1.4 percent over the 2015 fiscal year.