{
  "id": 7338602,
  "title": "SC Ports, Norfolk Southern expand intermodal access to Huntsville",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/sc-ports-norfolk-southern-expand-intermodal-access-to-huntsville",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-14T12:31:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "FreightWaves",
    "slug": "freightwaves",
    "url": "https://www.freightwaves.com/news/sc-ports-norfolk-southern-expand-intermodal-access-to-huntsville"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South Carolina Ports and Norfolk Southern have introduced daily direct intermodal rail service between the Port of Charleston and Huntsville, Alabama. This initiative aims to offer importers and exporters an additional rail option for transporting containerized cargo from Charleston to inland Southeast markets. The service began on September 11 and is set to provide shippers with greater flexibility, faster access to markets, and cost-effective connectivity.\n\nSC Ports President and CEO Micah Mallace highlighted the significance of this intermodal service for customers, emphasizing the partnership with Norfolk Southern to deliver flexibility, speed, and cost-effectiveness. The service complements the port's existing rail network, which handles approximately 25% of the port's container volume by rail. Charleston's rail network already includes daily express intermodal services, connections to Inland Ports Greer and Dillon, and intermodal hubs in Memphis, Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, Charlotte, and Louisville.\n\nNorfolk Southern's Vice President of Intermodal Automotive, Shawn Tureman, noted that the new Charleston-Huntsville lane strengthens the port's position in a rapidly growing Southeastern freight market, providing shippers with an alternative to truck transportation for port-related moves. The Port of Charleston serves as a crucial gateway to one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, handling significant exports such as manufactured products ($19.2 billion) and imported auto parts, engines, and transmissions ($3.5 billion).\n\nHuntsville and the Tennessee Valley region boast a diverse range of industries, including aerospace and defense, automotive manufacturing, electronics, technology, pharmaceuticals, distribution, and advanced manufacturing. The Port of Huntsville, along with its airport, International Intermodal Center, Foreign Trade Zone No. 83, and Jetplex Industrial Park, offers a comprehensive rail-air-truck logistics platform for shippers.\n\nThis new service enhances SC Ports' efforts to improve inland rail connectivity, particularly through the recently completed $55 million expansion of Inland Port Greer. This expansion increased cargo-handling capacity by 50% and added 9,000 feet of track for longer trains. The Huntsville connection could potentially attract discretionary cargo from North Alabama and Middle Tennessee by providing a direct rail route to the port's container terminals and ocean carrier network.",
  "summary": "SC Ports and Norfolk Southern launched daily intermodal rail service between Charleston and Huntsville, expanding the port’s inland reach. The post SC Ports, Norfolk Southern expand intermodal access to Huntsville appeared first on FreightWaves .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}