It’s been a challenging year for North Carolina’s ports in Wilmington and Morehead City, according to N.C. Ports Executive Director Brian Clark.
Tariffs and economic uncertainty have cast a shadow on the trade and shipping sector in recent months. In 2025, for example, North Carolina’s ports witnessed a downturn in container volumes, which Clark attributes to a general drop in U.S. consumer spending.
“I think it’s a pretty common theme across all the ports that volumes are down,” he said.
Clark said some carriers are starting to rationalize their services or make them more efficient, while others are looking to shift their vessels into more profitable trade lanes. He cited an example of a carrier that announced a new service at the port earlier this year, only to pause it a few months later.
Clark said he hopes the announcement of new trade deals, including a recent one with China that would roll back some tariffs and vessel fees, will lead to an uptick in volumes moving through the port.
On the general cargo side, Clark said volumes, which include both ports in Wilmington and Morehead City, remain “decent.”
“We are seeing a bit of a slowdown in some specific commodities,” he said, “but in general, overall tonnage at both ports is on plan for this year.”
Specifically, the ports are seeing a slowdown in imported dimensional lumber and steel, which is typically tied to the auto industry. Port officials are working to diversify the cargoes coming through the port. The ports have taken advantage of a strong break-bulk market. Clark said he’s seeing lots of cargo opportunities to support specific, one-time projects.
“Part of our strategy is to remain diversified between containers and general cargo,” Clark said, “and obviously, as we’ve seen with the downturn in the container volume, but the (recent) uptick in general cargo, it’s really served us well over this past calendar year and certainly into the start of this fiscal year.”
A financial audit from the N.C. State Auditor concluded that during the last fiscal year, which ended on July 1, the N.C. State Ports Authority saw an overall decline in general cargo volumes during the past fiscal year, but witnessed growth in higher-revenue break-bulk commodities.
The audit also showed that the port system recorded a $6.3 million operating loss during the past fiscal year, compared to a loss of $4.4 million the year before.
“Like any business, we must account for the declining value of our assets, including our large, capital-intensive equipment,” Clark said. “This factors into our overall financial picture, and our operating loss in FY25 was driven mostly by additional depreciation expense.”
On the container side, Clark said the port is focused on providing services that will draw new cargo, carriers and services. He especially sees potential in investing in infrastructure to support refrigerated container volumes – one area where the port is seeing growth.
Previously, around 8% of the cargo moving through the port of Wilmington was refrigerated. Now, that’s around 15% to 16%, Clark said. He said he believes that the investments the port has made over the years in its refrigerated container yard and reefer service area will continue to support that cargo sector for years to come.
Other projects are also ongoing at the port of Wilmington that are set to increase its capacity.
Work is moving ahead on the port’s new intermodal rail yard. The $22.5 million project broke ground last fall and is expected to be completed in early summer 2026, Clark said. The project will add four new working tracks to the Port of Wilmington’s container terminal with a combined length of 5,000 feet.
Once complete, the project will expand the port’s intermodal capacity to more than 50,000 container movements by rail annually. The port’s intermodal activity is currently capped at approximately 14,000 intermodal rail movements annually.
Port officials are also preparing for a project that would relocate the port’s north gate. Environmental studies are currently ongoing to prepare for the project, Clark said. He expects the project would be bid out in mid-2026, with an expected construction period of around 18 months.
The port is also adding 8,000 feet of rail storage track, which is expected to be completed next year. It will help support the port’s overall rail growth, Clark said.
In 2025, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also released findings supporting the deepening of Wilmington’s harbor to a depth of 47 feet. Clark said the harbor deepening is key to supporting the port’s growth and competitiveness.
“Today, we can handle the largest ships calling the East Coast. However, those ships cannot be used to their full capacity because they have to be light-loaded to get in and out of the port,” he said. “For us to remain competitive and to be able to attract these larger, typically trans-Pacific services, it’s a project that is very important to our future.”
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