Fastest Growing Florida Region
Home to more than 8 million residents and over 60 million visitors annually, all of central Florida is the state's fastest growing region, and is expected to outpace the growth of south Florida by more than 2 to 1 for the next several years (U.S. Census). The region is anchored by the I-4 corridor from Tampa to/from Orlando which in recent years has become one of the largest concentration of distribution centers in the Southeast, rivaling Atlanta.
Port Tampa Bay continues to successfully penetrate the Central Florida market through the provision of superior supply chain efficiencies to regional importers and exporters. This Central Florida region is also one of the hottest industrial real estate markets in the country and Florida’s hub for distribution, logistics, and manufacturing. Florida now has the country’s third-highest population of 21 million residents and welcomes more than 126 million tourists every year. Florida also now has the 15th largest economy in the world. The importers and exporters who support this huge consumer market are demanding a Florida-first supply chain strategy with expanded direct ocean container services. The Tampa Bay region combined with the I-4 Corridor is home to almost half of Florida’s population. With more than 400 distribution centers, the I-4 Corridor is fueling demand for everything from retail and e-commerce goods, food & beverage, to energy products, and construction & building materials.
The port's efforts to attract services include telling our story of better efficiencies through proximity to this explosive growth and by thereby providing superior inland transit times for container shipping lines.