Port Tampa Bay: Expanding Capacity to Florida's Distribution Hub

[By: Port Tampa Bay]

The recent launch of new direct Asia services and the addition of new service connections with Mexico and Central America highlight the significance and growth of Port Tampa Bay’s container market. Home to almost half the state’s population of more than 21 million residents and welcoming a majority of the 126 million tourists who visit Florida every year, the Tampa Bay/Orlando I-4 Corridor has the largest concentration of distribution centers in the state.

From this central location in the middle of the Florida peninsula, importers and exporters achieve significant savings in their truck delivery costs to serve the entire state, while also reaching into markets throughout the Southeast and beyond. For companies involved in retail distribution, e-commerce, food and beverage, and manufacturing, the demands for same-day service, tighter delivery windows, and shorter lead times are driving this shift in supply chain strategy. Importers and exporters benefit from significant truck cost savings, as well as reductions in their carbon footprint, as drivers can now make multiple shorter round trip deliveries per day thanks to Port Tampa Bay’s preferred location and proximity to Florida’s Distribution Hub – the I-4 Corridor.

Together with container terminal operator partner Ports America, Port Tampa Bay is continuing to expand and upgrade facilities, having recently added 25 acres of paved storage, with construction about to begin on another 30 acres, bringing the total container footprint to 100 acres. A third deep-water berth is also being added, along with additional cranes and a new gate complex.