Serving a Huge Local Market
With a population of more than 8 million people, plus 60 million visitors a year, the Tampa/Orlando region is a huge consumer market and projected to be the fastest growing region of Florida for the next 20 years. Its growth already outpaces South Florida by 2 to 1 (U.S. Census). The state of Florida has also overtaken New York as the 3rd most populous state with over 20 million people. The Tampa Bay/Orlando I-4 corridor also has the 10th largest economy in the U.S. with a GDP of more than $300 billion.
Imports and Exports
Major industry clusters include food and beverage, citrus and juice products, furniture, general department store merchandise, steel, fertilizer, animal feed and agricultural products. Florida is the leading state for merchandise exports to Latin America and the Caribbean, responsible for 36% of all U.S. exports to the region. Asia is the top source of Florida's merchandise imports.
Reduced Transportation Costs
Port Tampa Bay's proximity to the largest and fastest growing region of Florida puts shippers closer to their primary Florida markets. Additionally, serving all of Florida from the middle of the state is more cost efficient overall considering the dramatic reduction of inland trucking costs and time.