Florida Seaports Report Continued Growth in Cargo and Cruise

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (June 4, 2018) - The Florida Ports Council released today "Connecting Commerce: The 2018-2022 Five-Year Florida Seaport Mission Plan" providing updated figures on international trade, cargo data and cruise activity at Florida's seaports, showing increases in both cargo and cruise.

Governor Rick Scott said, "Our state has had an incredible economic turnaround - Florida's hardworking businesses have created more than 1.5 million private sector jobs since December 2010. This job growth would not be possible without our incredible seaports. Since December 2010, we've invested more than $1.4 billion in our seaports, and the '2018 Seaport Mission Plan' highlights how much the ports are growing Florida's booming economy and supporting seven straight years of record tourism."

Some highlights of the 2018-2022 plan include:

• $83.2 billion in value of Florida's waterborne trade (4.9 percent increase)
• 16.1 million cruise passengers served
• $54.4 billion in value of containerized cargo moved ($4.3 billion increase)
• Eight of the eleven cargo ports in Florida increasing tonnage, with 24 million tons worth of containers moved

"Now that Florida ports have the infrastructure to accommodate more cargo, we are seeing steady growth year after year in total cargo tonnage and value of cargo, as well as the number of cruise passengers," said Doug Wheeler, Florida Ports Council President and CEO. "With $3.3 billion in capital improvements at Florida's seaports identified over the next five years, we expect these numbers to continue to grow creating a stable economy for current Floridians and future generations."

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The Florida Ports Council is the professional association of Florida's 14 public seaports, providing advocacy, leadership and research on seaport-related issues before state and federal government. Florida's ports support more than 900,000 jobs in the state and contribute $117 billion to the state's economy each year. The Florida Ports Council administers the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council (FSTED) which is required to provide a 5-year Florida Seaport Mission Plan annually according to F.S. 311.09(3).

More Info: http://flaports.org/2018/06/04/florida-seaports-report-continued-growth-in-cargo-and-cruise/