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Eliatamby Chairs TDL Council’s Third Annual Summit

March 14, 2014

COLUMBIA, SC — March 14, 2013 — South Carolina’s top leaders from the transportation, distribution and logistics industry gathered with other business, policy and government leaders today in Columbia, S.C, for the third annual South Carolina Transportation, Distribution and Logistics (TDL) Summit hosted by New Carolina’s TDL Council, which is a collaborative effort between public and private sector leaders to boost South Carolina’s economy, create jobs and attract investment that will position the state as a global leader in the TDL industry. The TDL industry generates $1.6 billion in wages to roughly 40,000 employees across 2,500 businesses in South Carolina each year, and with continued collaboration and continued support these figures will only increase, benefiting the economic competitiveness of our entire state.

This major statewide summit provides a forum for knowledge exchange and discussion about the state’s infrastructure needs, latest industry trends, recent economic development announcements and the critical issues that need to be solved to continue moving our state forward. The agenda included a legislative panel as well as a panel discussion regarding the new, inland port in Greer, S.C., and the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility in North Charleston, S.C. Panelists included Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsome and representatives from BMW Manufacturing Co., Norfolk Southern and SC Public Railways.

National expert, Rebecca Brewster, President and COO, American Transportation Research Institute, made a presentation about the national trends in the trucking industry and the industry’s impact on the overall supply chain. SC Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt presented on the economic impact of the state’s investments in the TDL industry and the need to continue its investment to drive economic competitiveness. SC Department of Transportation Secretary Robert St. Onge reported on the status of the SC Multimodal Transportation Plan, which was begun in 2011. This 25-year statewide transportation plan emphasizes the importance of linking transportation investment to economic development, with the goal of prioritizing future transportation infrastructure requirements in a manner that supports business growth and job creation. As part of this effort, regional listening sessions, key stakeholder interviews and a statewide freight survey were recently conducted to support the development of the South Carolina’s first Statewide Freight Plan.

“Events such as the South Carolina TDL Summit further support this effort ahead of the plan’s expected completion later this year,” said TDL Council Member, SC Department of Transportation Secretary Robert St. Onge. “New Carolina’s TDL Council continues to represent the interests and perspectives of private industry throughout this process providing the support necessary to help execute and deliver on the major goals of this plan,” he added.

“The transportation, distribution and logistics network in South Carolina has a major impact on our state’s economic growth,” said TDL Council member, South Carolina Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt. “I’m looking forward to building on the dialogue and actions that resulted from last year’s TDL Summit and identifying solutions that will help us bridge the gap as we plan for the future,” he added.

“New Carolina’s TDL Council is proud to provide forums such as the SC TDL Summit where industry players and state leaders can exchange ideas and have the productive dialogue necessary to continue moving our state forward,” said Deepal Eliatamby, President of Alliance Consulting Engineers and TDL Council Chair. “With recent economic development announcements related to the TDL industry including Continental Tire’s new Sumter facility, Bridgestone’s expansion in Aiken and the progress being made with the port, the TDL Summit was very timely so that we can celebrate the current TDL successes and chart the course for future growth,” he added.

For more information on the TDL Council visit www.tdlcouncilsc.com.

About the TDL Council

The Transportation, Distribution and Logistics (TDL) Council is a cluster initiative of New Carolina to bring together public and private sector leaders to help South Carolina compete for jobs, investment and industry leadership for the TDL industry of South Carolina. The Council will identify and eliminate major industry obstacles and roadblocks to competitiveness with regards to infrastructure, incentives, workforce and more. The Council will drive solutions to address these issues and help direct focused investments of public sector dollars. Additional information is available at www.tdlcouncilsc.com.

About New Carolina

New Carolina — South Carolina’s Council on Competitiveness — is a public-private partnership working to increase South Carolina’s prosperity and enhance South Carolina’s economic competitiveness through a cluster development strategy. New Carolina’s mission is to find, build and celebrate industry clusters in South Carolina and to improve the business environment for better growth. With a proven track record for streamlining and coordinating statewide industry efforts, New Carolina brings valuable insights to the table for connecting the dots and achieving collaborative economic development solutions. For more information, www.newcarolina.org.

See the original article at http://www.newcarolina.org/resources/news.aspx?article_id=243.