As Florida ports expand, officials call for continued funding to handle bigger ships
By Alli Knothe
Tampa Bay Times
Published: Dec 13, 2016

Florida's seaports have added 200,000 jobs to the state's economy since 2012, the Florida Port Council announced at a Tampa press conference today.

Local and state officials used the opportunity to call for continued funding for port expansions and upgrades. "We've invested over $1 billion in our ports in the last six years," said Gov. Rick Scott. "Almost 900,000 jobs are related to our ports and we're going to keep investing."

According to the Council, Florida's 15 ports have generated about $4 billion in state and local tax revenues. A 3 percent annual growth rate in cargo was driven by increases in dry bulk commodities, containerized cargo, petroleum, cars and steel products.

Doug Wheeler, Council president and chief executive, said that the state has been doing a better job at attracting cargo from Latin American markets. The challenge, he said, is ensuring that the ports are able to handle the increasing size of cargo and cruise ships.

The event was held at Port Tampa Bay's new east port terminal.

Contact Alli Knothe at aknothe@tampabay.com. Follow @KnotheA.