Posted on February 20, 2025
Among East Coast destinations for imported goods, many Florida ports have established themselves as appealing trade route endpoints by offering the deepwater channels and desired turnaround times needed to accommodate today’s Post-Panamax container ships. As such, competition among top Florida ports for increased tenants and traffic has port authorities looking to increase services and infrastructure options set forth as Master Plan goals. If these on-port goals are achieved as expected, key Florida ports will become integral players in decreasing lengthy berth stays by providing more efficient logistics for both cargo and cruise passengers.
Port of Jacksonville (JAXPORT)
At the Port of Jacksonville’s “State of the Port 2025” address, the focus was on a growth outlook that included “business diversification and trade lane connectivity.” During the address, Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) CEO Eric Green and CCO Robert Peek detailed how the port’s “business diversification, increased global connectivity, and ongoing terminal upgrades position the port for growth and success in 2025 and beyond.”
Updated port statistics show that cargo activity through Jacksonville’s seaport played a role in “more than 228,100 jobs in Florida and contributed to $44 billion in annual economic output for the region and state in 2024.” However, port executives are not content to sit on their impressive logistical laurels at the State’s largest container port—which offers a “47-foot deepwater shipping channel, two-way ship traffic, and same-day access to nearly 100 million U.S. consumers”—and anticipate 2025 to be a “transformational” year for the Port of Jacksonville by way of the completion of major projects on JAXPORT’s current to-do list.
JAXPORT Chair, Wendy Hamilton, said, “From the addition of new trade lanes to the completion of major growth projects, 2025 is shaping up to be a transformational year for JAXPORT. CEO Green has a clear vision for the continued growth and development of JAXPORT—strengthening the supply chain and creating an environment where the port’s customers and partners can thrive.”
As part of the future growth in its container service, JAXPORT has begun new global carrier alliances with some of the world’s top ocean carriers. These strategic partnerships and modified service routes provide the Port with “access to more global markets than ever before, allowing for expanded connectivity with new and emerging markets worldwide.”
CEO Eric Green said, “Our mission is to be an economic engine and job creator for the community. We achieve this through strategic growth across our lines of business and major initiatives to expand our capabilities across our key cargo types—containers, autos, and breakbulk. Public and private investments in our terminals ensure JAXPORT continues to generate business growth benefitting our region and state.”
As reported by JAXPORT, projects expected to improve cargo-handling capacities include:
SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal: The $72 million modernization project to expand the SSA Terminal will be completed this spring. The facility features 97 acres of newly paved asphalt and can accommodate about 650,000 TEUs annually, bringing JAXPORT’s total TEU capacity to approximately 2 million TEUs annually, nearly double its current throughput.
New Cranes: JAXPORT is investing more than $70 million to maintain and upgrade its container crane fleet, including three new cranes that will arrive later this year. The three new Liebherr cranes will serve the Puerto Rico trade as well as international volumes.
Southeast Toyota Distributors: Construction of a new 340,000-square-foot state-of-the-art auto processing facility at Blount Island will be completed this summer. The new facility, funded with $120 million in private investment, enables Southeast Toyota Distributors to process more vehicles annually through Jacksonville and supports more than 800 jobs.
Auto berth upgrade: Last month, JAXPORT completed the expansion of Vehicle Berth 22 at Blount Island to accommodate larger ships calling the terminal more efficiently.”
Construction of a new 340,000-square-foot state-of-the-art auto processing facility for Southeast Toyota Distributors at Blount Island will be completed this summer.
Other Initiatives Noted by JAXPORT Include:
Increasing the air draft: JAXPORT is working with local electric provider JEA on a project to raise the overhead powerlines near Blount Island to an operational clearance of 205 feet. Increasing the air draft allows more ships to utilize Jacksonville’s 47-foot deepwater shipping channel, which has an anticipated completion by the end of 2026.
Breakbulk: Terminal operator Enstructure will expand its current operations at the Talleyrand terminal once Southeast Toyota relocates to Blount Island. The project includes the addition of a 250,000 square foot warehouse, which will increase the port’s on-terminal covered capacity to handle non-containerized cargo such as forest products by 20 percent.
Autos: A $54 million project to build a new vehicle berth 20 at Blount Island will be completed in 2027.
Port of Fernandina Beach
Located on the east side of the Amelia River on Amelia Island in Nassau County and abutting the city of Fernandina Beach, the Port of Fernandina, operated by the Ocean Highway and Port Authority of Nassau County (OHPA), is an independent special-purpose district created by the Florida State Legislature to encourage economic development in Nassau County. The port provides both imports and exports to more than 14 pulp and paper producers located throughout Florida and the Southeastern United States, as well as steel and lumber export services to several steel companies with mills in the Southeast.
Recently the Port deepened its berths to 40 feet MLW, added 3 new cranes, and a new Terminal Operating System (TOS). With recent USACE maintenance dredging of Fernandina’s federal channel, the Port is now accessible to ships with drafts of up to 40 feet and MLW free of any overhead obstructions. The 950-foot turning basin is directly adjacent to the 1,200-foot pier. The port handles a variety of breakbulk cargoes, including steel, aluminum, machinery, paper and forest products and consumer goods. It has 250,000 square-feet of on-site warehouse space, 100,000+ square-feet off-port, and 10 acres of open storage, all which sits minutes away from the six-lane A1A/SR 200 highway enabling easy access to both Interstates 95 and 10.
The Port is contemplating an expansion to increase the capacity of the Port’s on-dock warehouses and rail transloading facilities, as well as to modernize the Port’s truck gates. The Port currently has 230,000 square-feet of on-port warehouse facilities, over 130,000 square-feet of off-port warehouse facilities, and daily on-dock rail service.
In 2024 the port handled 321,168 tons which is up 64,978 tons cargo compared to 2023’s posting of 256,190 tons. The largest breakbulk cargos handled by the port were woodpulp at 140,528 tons and kraft liner board at almost 90,000 tons. The port also saw an increase of rail freight handling: 1,831 railcars in 2024 compared to 1,760 in 2023. Although not a container port, Fernandina handled over 57,000 tons of container freight as well.
The MV Canopée docked at Port Canaveral’s North Cargo Berth 1 (Canaveral Port Authority)
Port Canaveral
Much like the statistics reported at JAXPORT, Port Canaveral also experienced impressive growth and record numbers for FY24, which suggests continued success in cargo and cruise business revenues as 2025 gets well underway.
Delivering Port Canaveral’s “State of the Port” address, Canaveral Port Authority CEO Capt. John Murray gave a recap of Port Canaveral’s 2024 performance with “revenue growth in all business sectors and a strong outlook projected for the coming fiscal year.” Statistics showed the Port’s total revenues were $191 million—comprised of $156 million from cruise operations, $23 million from cargo, and $12 million from non-ship operations.
Captain Murray said, “Port Canaveral continues to be a strategic economic driver for creating jobs, helping local businesses to grow and prosper, and bringing more guests to experience all that our Port community has to offer. We are proud of our growth and the collective success of our region.”
Having established itself as the world’s second-busiest cruise port, Port Canaveral “handled a record 7.6 million passenger movements – a 12% increase over the previous year – with 13 homeported ships, 911 cruise ship calls, and 914,000 vehicles parked. Over the past year, the Port added new parking facilities and an upgraded parking processing system, making the Port even more convenient to guests and more attractive to cruise partners.”
Murray pointed out, “Cruise continues to be a significant segment of our business portfolio with some of the newest and largest ships in the world based at Port Canaveral. This speak volumes to the confidence our cruise partners have in our ability to consistently deliver exceptional results for their guests.”
Not to be overlooked for its significant cargo contributions, Port Canaveral received “728 ship calls and 6.6 million tons of critical commodities during the last year, which included 3.6 million tons of transportation fuels, 1.8 million tons of aggregates, and 732,000 tons of lumber and forest products.” Other notable highlights of the past year included a second mobile harbor crane and the renovation of a cruise berth.
Looking further ahead in 2025, the Canaveral Port Authority is forecasting another successful year of growth in cargo and cruise sectors, with projected revenues of $211 million.
Captain Murray summed up, “We are tremendously proud to be an integral part of this community for more than seven decades. We will continue to work hard, making sound business decisions and investments in our Port that will translate into economic prosperity for our region and the State of Florida. In the end, our success is their success.”
Port Everglades
At Port Everglades, preliminary fiscal year-end figures for 2025 show “healthy increases in cruise, cargo and petroleum volumes resulting in record revenues.” Broward County Mayor Nan Rich pointed out, “Port Everglades is one of Broward County’s vital economic engines, which supports more than 11,000 local jobs. That is a direct result of the success of the amazing leadership at Port Everglades and diverse array of companies served by our port.”
As evidence of Rich’s accolades, “Containerized cargo rose 7% over the previous year with 1,087,112 TEUs and almost $41 million in revenue. Port Everglades also moved into the top 20 percent of ports worldwide for operational performance, climbing in the rankings from 89 to 65, according to the latest Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) developed by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence. Regionally, including the United States and Canada, Port Everglades claimed the No. 3 spot, up two spots from the 2022 report, and remains No. 1 in Florida. Contributing to this improved performance was the opening of the port’s Southport Turning North Extension, which added five new berths, and the commissioning of three additional super Post-Panamax container gantry cranes. As an example of the port’s operational efficiencies, CMA CGM, a world leader in refrigerated ocean transport, selected Port Everglades as the only American port of call on its new CEIBA Express service.”
On the business of cruising, “Port Everglades set a new cruise passenger record for the Florida turnaround port and welcomed more than 4 million embarking and disembarking guests in FY24, a 39% increase over FY23. Cruise guest parking revenue also increased by 46 percent, bolstered by the port’s new 750-space surface lot. A total of 889 ship calls generated nearly $77 million in revenue and parking generated another $13.8 million. Disney Cruise Line opened its second homeport at Port Everglades at the beginning of the fiscal year, joining Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean International with year-round sailing itineraries, all of which contributed to the port’s cruise growth.”
According to cruise forecasts at Port Everglades, the Port’s cruise business line is “on course for a buoyant fiscal year based on double-digit growth during the first quarter of FY25 (Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024).”
The anticipated success can be attributed to “multi-day cruise ship calls that increased by 25 percent, with 235 calls compared to 188 calls in the same period of the previous year. The wave of growth is also seen in the port’s cruise passenger traffic, which is up by 27% to 1,349,313 guests versus 1,064,998 compared to the same period in FY24. The uptick in ship calls and guests resulted in part from Disney Cruise Line establishing homeport operations at Port Everglades, joining industry leaders Celebrity Cruises, Crystal, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Royal Caribbean International, Silversea Cruises and Viking Cruises.”
Joseph Morris, Port Everglades CEO and Port Director, said, “While we continue to navigate the year ahead, this strong first quarter is a promising indication of smooth sailing for our customers and the broader economy. These numbers not only highlight our steady course of growth but also position us to achieve new heights this fiscal year.”
According to Morris, the port anticipates setting a new cruise passenger record in FY25 with a forecasted 4.4 million guests.
Statistics for Port Everglades consistently rank the Port among “the top three busiest cruise homeports in the world, and it is also one of the nation’s leading container ports and South Florida’s main seaport for receiving energy products including gasoline, jet fuel and alternative fuels.” In addition, “more than 192,000 Florida jobs are impacted by the port, including nearly 11,000 people who work for companies that provide direct services to Port Everglades.”
Hoping to equal and surpass its success from FY24, Port Everglades is already off to a running start in the first quarter of FY25. According to port statistics, “Cargo tonnage and container throughput are up at Port Everglades with a double-digit growth during the first quarter of FY25 (Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024). The port’s total container throughput in TEUs is up by 12% to 285,335 TEUs, compared to 255,241 from the same period in FY24. The port’s containerized cargo tonnage climbed by 11 percent to 1,750,546 tons, compared to 1,580,126 tons during the same period in the previous year.”
Morris said, “This marked increase in volume reflects regional consumers’ demand, the appeal and value of our cargo services and the efforts of the port’s cargo terminal customers.”
Port Everglades is also experiencing an increase in petroleum volumes, with “energy volumes at Port Everglades remaining steady with almost 130 million barrels of throughput, which translates to 5.46 billion gallons of mainly gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. While private companies operate the petroleum terminals, Port Everglades generates revenue from energy products through dock and volume fees, which came to a total of approximately $45 million.” Port statistics also point out that petroleum products are trending upward as measured by the barrels that are delivered to 12 counties in Florida and five international airports.
PortMiami
Not to be outshined by any sister ports in the Sunshine State, PortMiami has “a new master plan that charts an ambitious course for future growth,” according to Port Director Bill Johnson, who added, “Thanks to an impressive roster of capital improvement projects, it is anticipated that cargo traffic will double over the next decade, while the number of cruise passengers is expected to grow along with an expanded offering of cruise brands and ships.”
Johnson pointed out, “The Port of Miami’s mission is to operate and further develop the world’s leading cruise port and the largest container port in the State of Florida; to maximize its assets and strengthen its advantage for future growth; promote international trade and commerce as a vital link between North and South America and a growing global trade; support sustainability and operate in an environmentally responsible manner.”
Detailing how The Port of Miami (POM) 2035 Master Plan will help guide the Port’s future direction and goals, Johnson said, “Cruise passenger projections take us from 4.1 million passengers to 5.9 million in 2035. And our cargo projections run from 847,249 TEUs in 2010 to 1.7–3.3 million in 2035. Increasing Port business ultimately increases the County’s economy. The 2020 Master Plan presented the need for a tunnel connecting Port traffic directly to the Interstate system and promoted dredging the South Channel to -50’/-52’ for Post-Panamax ships to berth at the Port. These projects are currently underway, and their completion should coincide with the completion of the Panama Canal expansion.”
He continued, “The 2035 Master Plan continues to push the envelope and takes us into the future with projects that will help increase both cargo and passenger throughput by adding services, upgrading infrastructure, enhancing efficiency and increasing berthing capacity. Projects presented in the 2035 Master Plan include a phased implementation plan allowing for development depending on additional changes in the global market. There are three main components to the Ports future progress: cargo, cruise and commercial with an overarching theme of sustainability.”
Looking to its focus on sustainability, Johnson said, “The Port of Miami is located within the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve, surrounded by the natural environment including sea grass and marine life, as well as the human environment with commercial and residential uses. Protecting both environments for future generations is a major concern in how the Port will grow. The Master Plan dedicates much thought to the surrounding areas and outlines projects that will help preserve it.”
With regard to cargo and cruise plans for the future, Johnson reported, “In preparation to compete for cargo for the next 50 years, the Port of Miami is focusing on three major projects: the construction of the Port of Miami Tunnel which will connect Port traffic directly to the interstate system, dredging the main channel to accommodate Post-Panamax ships, and the rehabilitation of rail on Port.”
He added, “The cruise industry supports one of the County’s biggest economic engines: tourism. The Port of Miami, known worldwide as the Cruise Capital of the World, plans to remain number one by competing for the growing cruise industry. To accommodate for this growth in 2035, the Port must begin to invest in new larger terminal complexes and multimodal centers.”
Johnson also commented on the commercial aspects of the Port’s Master Plan. “The Master Plan aligns the anticipation of an increase in cruise passengers visiting the Port with the need for providing commercial development onsite. This development is the anchor that will connect the Port and the tourism industry that it serves to the community. By working together, we will create a unified waterfront global destination.”
Johnson summed up, “The PortMiami 2035 Master Plan is a sub-element of Miami-Dade County’s Comprehensive Development Master Plan (CDMP). With the support of the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, the Port is ready to meet the challenges of the new global trade reality, and we are positioning ourselves to compete well into 2035.”
Port of Palm Beach
On February 1st, 2024, the Port of Palm Beach recorded a rare event. For the first time in more than a decade, all berths at the port were occupied ranging from container ships, cargo ships, a cruise ship, barges, and yachts occupying the berthing space. Port of Palm Beach Board of Commission Chairman Wayne Richards said, “This achievement is unheard of in my 22-year tenure as a Port Commissioner.”
In FY 2023 the port posted an 11% increase in net operating revenue, and a 7% reduction in operating expenses, resulting in a $4.8M total net income which is a $3.3 million increase from the FY 2023 budget.
The main areas of growth for the port were breakbulk, cement, sugar and containerized cargo. The cruise side also experienced growth as the number of passengers traveling through Port of Palm Beach soared by 183% compared to prior fiscal year.
Maersk has announced plans to add a weekly container service connecting Port Tampa Bay.
Port of Tampa Bay
The Port of Tampa Bay is one of the most diversified and largest — 3,000 acres — ports in the nation, with a mix of bulk, breakbulk and containerized cargo and is the closest port to Florida’s largest concentration of distribution centers along the Tampa Bay-Orlando I-4 corridor. In 2024 the port handled 34.6 million tons of cargo, with container operations accounting for 300,000 tons of the total.
And speaking of containerized freight, in November of 2024, Maersk has announced plans to add a new weekly container service connecting Port Tampa Bay with Cartagena, Colombia beginning in the first quarter of 2025. At the time of the announcement Port Tampa Bay President & CEO Paul Anderson, noted, “This is great news from our longstanding partner Maersk demonstrating their commitment to our expanding market.” Raul Alfonso, the port’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer added, “This new container connection which will allow Port Tampa Bay customers to connect with Maersk’s worldwide network of services via its hub in Cartagena.
Among the port’s accomplishments in 2024 was the approval in November 2024 by the port commissioners of two lease agreements with Agunusa (AGS) for facilities at the port’s Eastport and Hookers Point locations. AGS will operate on 18 acres at Eastport, with the possibility of taking an additional 10 acres in the future. They will also lease 15 acres at Hookers Point, with plans to develop a trans-load warehouse distribution facility, and the opportunity to expand that site as well. The twenty-year lease agreements (with extension options) are a testament to the long-term commitment of AGS to the Port Tampa Bay maritime community.
The Port also has big plans for the future. In August the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed off on the General Reevaluation Report (GRR) to deepen the Port Tampa Bay’s shipping channels. The first step in getting the main shipping channel dredged. The Port Tampa Bay’s main shipping channel running from Tampa downtown over to the Sunshine Skyway bridge is 43-feet deep — short of the depth needed to compete with other ports like Savannah and Charleston for the current generation of boxships. The port authority wants to dredge the 40-mile channel to at least 47-feet deep. If the permitting process moves along as planned, the port hopes the dredging will being in 2027-28 and be completed by around 2030. The spoils from the dredging would be used as land fill to create more terminal space in the port.
Two new Konecranes Gottwald Generation 6 mobile harbor cranes steam toward SeaPort Manatee on Dec. 2 after passing under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge aboard Spliethoff’s M/V Plantijngracht.
SeaPort Manatee
To say that SeaPort Manatee had an eventful year would be more than a bit of an understatement. The port is all about location and its tag line says it all — “Where Tampa Bay Meets the Gulf of Mexico.” And the port’s location has both advantages and disadvantages with both on display in 2024.
The advantages to SeaPort Manatee are the rail and roadway links to the growing Southwest and Central Florida markets and all the region’s distribution centers. Additionally, the port is the closest US deepwater seaport to the expanded Panama Canal. The port with its ten deep draft berths also serves a special niche catering to liquid and dry bulk, breakbulk, heavylift, project and general cargo as well as containers.
The downside to the Manatee’s location, like that of Florida in general, is hurricanes. And on October 9th Hurricane Milton made landfall near the port. Shortly later, on October 14th, $9.5 million in emergency funding was announced by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to help with seaport’s recovery from the over $200 million in damages.
On the bright side SeaPort Manatee handled a record volume of more than 11,810,062 tons of cargo, up 7.2 % from fiscal 2023 of cargo, and containerized cargo throughput reached a record 168,897 TEUs for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024. And according to a recently released report the port’s annual economic impact figure rose to nearly $7.3 billion.
Another bit of good news was an early Christmas present of two mobile cranes.
The addition of the latest pair of eco-efficient cranes, which arrived at the Manatee on December 2nd, 2024, after a trans-Atlantic voyage from Antwerp, Belgium, on Spliethoff’s M/V Plantijngracht was a fitting end to the year. The new cranes bring the port’s total to seven Gottwald mobile harbor cranes at SeaPort Manatee. As Carlos Buqueras, SeaPort Manatee’s executive director, said at the time of arrival, “With cargo flowing through SeaPort Manatee at a record pace, this added lift capability could not be arriving at a more opportune time, further enhancing our ability to adeptly meet needs of consumers and industry alike.”
Port Panama City
The Port of Panama City is located on the Florida panhandle facing the Gulf. The Port Panama City acts in the dual role as an operating port and a landlord port, overseen by the Panama City Port Authority, an entity under the governance of the City of Panama City. In 2023 the port embarked on the strategic plan to “guide the Port’s short- and long-term investment decisions and design the Plan for the future that includes the revised objectives, strategies, and investments to drive continued growth.”
Currently the port has two major infrastructure projects on the docket — in 2025, the port will begin construction on a second major warehouse, while in 2027, construction on the East Terminal turning basin and expansion project will get underway.
The Port’s main business is dry bulk and breakbulk collectively amounting to just over 2 million tons annually with exports running slightly ahead of imports. The two biggest export commodities handled by the port are wood pellets and kraft liner board. Last year the port completed a 20,000-ton-capacity storage dome to support growth in exports of wood pellets. On the import side, copper is the largest import but aggregate lumber and containerized freight are big contributors. Although relatively small in comparison, the container terminal expansion is underway and could boost totals in the future.
