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Update December 19, 7 p.m.: It's looking possible that there could be more negotiations. Read more.

First reporting: After unions rejected a cost-cutting proposal, Maersk has announced it's going to stop using Charleston's ports.

Read more stories on this subject in our port topic page.Maersk accounts for a quarter of our ports' container traffic, and the company has said it will fully discontinue using Charleston's ports after its contract expires at the end of 2010.

Of course, that future date leaves plenty of time for negotiation. But it's still not good news for a port that's been having problems growing port traffic.

And, just yesterday the Charleston port offered incentives to encourage business.

Right now The Post and Courier has a few more details. The Charleston Regional Business Journal has put up a better write-up on the announcement.

Update December 19: The Post and Courier has put up a thorough write-up of the announcement with lots of added context.