Frontier Logistics looks to boost plastic pellet exports from Port of Charleston
David Wren — The Post and Courier
A Texas company that exports plastic pellets used in dozens of consumer products said Tuesday it will build a $35.5 million warehouse and distribution center in North Charleston to transload shipments from Gulf Coast refineries.
Frontier Logistics said it will build the facility on 26 acres at the former Navy base. The company bought the property last month from Palmetto Railways — a division of the state Commerce Department — for nearly $6.4 million, according to county property records. Palmetto will provide rail service to and from the warehouse, connecting it to Norfolk-Southern and CSX Corp. routes.
Frontier currently operates from a State Ports Authority warehouse at Union Pier Terminal. Its new 400,000-square-foot distribution center, which can also transload other materials such as grains, is expected to create 34 jobs, with hiring to begin during the fourth quarter.
"Charleston has significant logistical advantages that reach the entire world market, enough so that it compels us to make Charleston a comprehensive launching pad for future export, import and domestic logistics needs," George Cook, Frontier's CEO, said in a statement.
La Porte, Texas-based Frontier eventually plans to ship about 1,000 cargo containers of plastic pellets through the Port of Charleston each month, according to published reports. The pellets can be used to make products ranging from disposable utensils and milk jugs to toys and medical devices.
Most U.S.-produced plastic pellets are exported from Gulf Coast ports, with the Port of Houston accounting for 38.1 percent of all shipments. However, that port's relatively limited number of sailings to Asian countries and a predicted boom in overseas demand has producers looking to other sites, including the Port of Charleston, for export services.
Jim Newsome, the SPA's president and CEO, called Frontier "an important business partner for the port," adding it will play an integral role in the agency's goal to boost shipments of plastics.
"The addition of their facility will support considerable increases in expected growth within the plastics segment over the coming years, which is a key component of the port's planned above-market volume growth," Newsome said.
The boom in plastics is being driven by the Gulf Coast's glut of cheap natural gas, the key raw ingredient in resin. Northeast Asia and northern Europe are the top markets for U.S.-produced plastic pellets.
