Florida Seaports on the Rise

The Florida Ports Council has released the 2014-2018 Five-Year Florida Seaport Mission Plan providing updated figures on international trade, cargo data and cruise activity at Florida’s seaports.

“The story revealed in these numbers is that Florida seaports are continuing their role as critical economic engines for their communities and for the state by growing their cargo and cruise business,” said Doug Wheeler, president and CEO of the Florida Ports Council. “With the recent strategic investments by the Governor and Legislature, we expect those numbers to continue to grow and bolster Florida’s economy overall.”

Some highlights of the 2013 data include:

• Florida’s Waterborne International Trade rose to $85.9 billion in 2013, a $300 million increase.
• Florida seaports moved more than 105.1 million total tons and 3.2 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent containers) of cargo in 2013.
• Florida seaports recorded a large trade surplus with trading partners in South America in 2013, exporting $11.1 billion more than it imported from the region.
• Florida seaports account for 13 percent of Florida’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – up from 9 percent in 2008.
• Florida seaports also served more than 14 million cruise passengers in 2013.

[mappress]

June 2, 2014