Inland Port Greer celebrates 5 years.

This S.C. Ports Authority celebrated five years of Inland Port Greer with a big number on Oct. 19. With a crowd of political and business leaders watching, the port crew lifted a cargo container from a rail car for the 446,280thtime.

According to Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the ports authority, the number is 62% ahead of projections when the port was opened in 2013. Newsome said the number was higher than he expected then, and he was one of the project's few optimists in the beginning.

"When I first announced that we were going to build an inland port in Greer, people thought I had lost my mind," Newsome said. "They said, 'What river are you going to deepen to get to Greer?'"

He said it didn't take long to get a lot of the right people on board, however, and the project moved quickly when they did. The idea was proposed in January 2012 and in operation in November 2013, and that was despite 103 days of rain in the interim.

"Inland Port Greer is firing on all cylinders and has been a continued success story since opening in 2013," Newsome said. "This facility is a critical component of the intermodal container logistics landscape in South Carolina and the Southeast region."

The ceremonial container was brought to the ground near the celebration, bearing a banner that was signed by attendees, starting with Gov. Henry McMaster.

"In just five years, Inland Port Greer has proven to be a critically important piece of South Carolina's infrastructure that helps facilitate our growing economy," McMaster said. "We continue to set records in export sales because companies know that when they invest in South Carolina and decide to do business here, they're going to get an elite workforce and an unparalleled ports system that can meet every need they may have."

The Greer facility is linked to the Port of Charleston by the Norfolk Southern main rail line that provides overnight service between Charleston and...