Yet Another Reason North Carolina Will never Get That Auto Factory

Today the Wall Street Journal tells us of the death of the port at Portland, Oregon long known for shipping far more tonnage than North Carolina has ever shipped as ships grow ever larger and can no longer sail up the 43' deep channel to the port.

Meanwhile, in Charleston, South Carolina where Volvo recently announced plans to build their newest auto factory:

"Over the next 10 years, the South Carolina Ports Authority and the State of South Carolina plan to spend a combined $2 billion at the Port of Charleston to build a container terminal, deepen its channel and expand road and rail access."

So how deep are the channels leading to North Carolina's 2 ports?

Wilmington:

• Ocean bar channel depth of 44 ft. M.L.L.W. and width of 500 ft.
• Inside harbor channel depth of 42 ft. M.L.L.W. and width of 500 ft. 
• Anchorage/turning basin depth of 42 ft. M.L.L.W. and diameter of 1,200 ft. 
• Depth of 38 ft. M.L.L.W. at berths 1 and 2; 42 ft. M.L.L.W. at berths 3 through 9 
• Minimum air draft in channel of 164 ft.

Morehead City:

• Ocean bar channel depth of 47 ft. M.L.L.W. and width of 450 ft.
• Inside harbor channel depth of 45 ft. M.L.L.W. and widths of 400, 600, 775 and 820 ft.
• East turning basin depth of 45 ft. M.L.L.W. and diameter of 1,350 ft.; West turning basin depth of 35 ft. M.L.L.W. and 1,100 ft. radius
• Depth of 45 ft. M.L.L.W. at berths 1, 2 and 3; 35 ft. M.L.L.W. at berths 4 through 9
• No air draft restriction in channel 

Get it, our ports are tiny, we can't ship cars and other things requiring mega ships to and from megasites as we don't have the infrastructure in place to do so. Our political "leaders" are lying to you as they take their kickbacks from developers and divert taxpayer dollars to build fields of dreams making themselves and their developer cronies rich in the process. Like I've written before, North Carolina is 20-40 years from having the necessary rails and ports in place to support an automobile factory.

And as always, please share this article with everyone you know.

Oh, and I hope to see you all Thursday night 6:00 PM at the Guilford County Agricultural Extension Center at a community forum hosted by North Carolina State University to discuss the economic benefits of Aquasponic farming in rural and urban areas. Click here to see the press release and join in real grass roots economic development that isn't padding the pockets of the elites.