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ASIA TRADE SPOTLIGHT— PORT TAMPA BAY

By Lori Musser

With approximately 1,000 people moving to Florida each day, demand for consumer products and building and construction materials is rising steadily. The state’ s ports— including its largest, Port Tampa Bay— have long-term plans in place to handle the diverse range of cargo needed by the state. These range from bulk commodities, such as aggregate; to containerized consumer goods; to steel, lumber and automobiles.

Along with addressing market growth, the ports must also navigate the current whirlwind that is global trade. Despite numerous challenges, such as everincreasing vessel size and global tariff volatility, Port Tampa Bay sees a direct route to its future— and that includes long-term growth in Asian trade.

The US Census Bureau’ s April monthly Total Trade report confirmed that five of the nation’ s top current 10 trading partners are from Asia. Led by China, these countries handled 19.3 % of US imports and exports,

Raul Alfonso

Executive VP and Chief Commercial Officer, Port Tampa Bay

or about $ 105.6 billion, in April. By comparison, trade with Mexico registered at $ 69.7 billion and trade with Canada registered at $ 56.6 billion during the same month. When examining containerized cargo only, China ousts Mexico and Canada as the nation’ s top trading partner.

Port Tampa Bay offers weekly sailings from a majority of carriers boasting large capacity in Asian markets, including CMA CGM, Cosco, ZIM, OOCL, Maersk, Evergreen and MSC. The port continues to register double-digit growth in containerized cargo, which remains the fastest-growing segment of its business, with an increase of approximately 143 % over the last six years. Calling the addition of direct container services between Tampa and Asia a“ game changer” for the state’ s logistics landscape, Raul Alfonso, Port Tampa Bay’ s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, shared some of Tampa Bay’ s Asian trade strategies and milestones with Journal of Commerce in a June interview.

Q: Port Tampa Bay recently expanded its container services with Asia. What was the thought process behind this?

A: Port Tampa Bay has solidified its position as Florida’ s new supply chain solution with the addition of direct container services with Asia. These services allow shippers to bypass traditional, congested East and West coast ports and tap into the rapidly expanding Central Florida market. The port’ s expanded direct Asian services have significantly enhanced transit time, reliability and scheduling. Combined with growing services from Mexico and Central America, the port is now handling increasing container volumes year over year, fueled by the demand from one of the country’ s top distribution corridors.

The recent expansion of container services with Asia, as well as South

America and Latin America, via Port Tampa Bay has been critical in serving Florida’ s markets. Home to the state’ s largest concentration of distribution centers, the Central Florida region has more than 550 million square feet of distribution center space, with 10 million more square feet under construction.

Q: Can you talk about the capital projects and initiatives are being undertaken by the port to support trade with Asia?

A: During 2024, Port Tampa Bay invested $ 80 million in capital projects to improve facilities, and secured $ 30 million in grant funding. The state of Florida strongly supports its ports, and Tampa Bay offers the best long-term growth potential due to its available land and strategic location. A major milestone last year was the approval of our deep-draft channel project, which will deepen the port from 43 feet to 47 feet

Port Tampa Bay maintains strong commercial ties with major ocean carriers with extensive Asian networks. Ports America, the container terminal operator at the port, supports seamless operations and maintains relationships with multiple Asian-linked carriers. The port’ s infrastructure and operations are designed to facilitate growth in Asian cargo and support future tenant developments.

Q: Trade between the US and Asia could best be described as unpredictable. What types of solutions can Port Tampa Bay provide?

A: The US – Asia trade lane continues to experience volatility due to a variety of

42 Journal of Commerce | July 7, 2024 www. joc. com