DHL to build distribution and warehouse park in S.C.

Global logistics provider DHL Supply Chain is set to build a distribution and warehouse park in Dorchester County, South Carolina, capitalizing on strong growth in the region, the company said this week.

The Charleston-area facility will open in phases and will create roughly 450 new jobs, according to DHL. Located on 125 acres, DHL Commerce Park will consist of three buildings totaling 1.7 million square feet at a cost of $100 million, DHL also said.

DHL said it is seeing strong growth in the Southeast, and that the new facility is in response to customers' requests for expanded service in South Carolina, in particular. Increased activity at the state's marine and inland ports is helping to drive business activity in the region, local officials added.

"South Carolina Ports Authority is seeing significant distribution center and warehousing activity in our region, driven by port users who rely on our marine and inland facilities to handle growing import volumes bound for consumers across the Southeast," Jim Newsome, South Carolina Ports Authority president and CEO, said in a prepared statement. "DHL Supply Chain will play an important role in supporting the logistics needs of multiple port-related business segments, and we look forward to the opening of their new facility."

Based in Westerville, Ohio, DHL Supply Chain is a division of Deutsche Post DHL, Bonn, Germany.