The South Carolina Ports Authority (SC Ports) is planning to pause operations at its Leatherman terminal at the Port of Charleston, as it looks to control costs in the face of "numerous headwinds" brought on by an uncertain trade forecast and declining volumes.

According to a June 25 release, operations at the Leatherman terminal will be moved to SC Ports' Wando and North Charleston terminals starting on August 1. SC Ports noted that this represents a short-term decision, although it's unclear when the Leatherman terminal might reopen down the line.

“We are working with our maritime partners to make this business decision to achieve long-term, sustainable growth,” SC Ports president and CEO Micah Mallace said. “We all want to retain current business and attract new business to Charleston.”

The Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal opened in 2021 as the first phase of a planned three-berth facility. While the completed project was originally designed to handle up to 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units annually — which would have doubled the port's capacity — only the initial 700,000-TEU phase has been built out. The terminal also briefly closed in 2023 due to a labor dispute with the International Longshoremen's Association, before reopening in 2024.

After several years of growth, container volumes at the Port of Charleston have softened in recent months. In the first half of the 2026 fiscal year, the port handled 689,350 containers, down slightly from 692,770 during that same period a year earlier.