The Port of Tampa. It’s easy to take for granted. It’s always been there.
Tampa’s skyline and waterfront are changing. Downtown is morphing residential. The city celebrates the successful recruiting of Super Bowls, a national political convention and the Bollywood Oscars. Planes are now flying directly from TIA to Cuba and Switzerland. We’re constantly reminded of how much USF and MacDill Air Force Base mean to this area.
And the Port of Tampa–a major center for shipbuilding and repair as well as a major cruise home port that accommodated 975,000 passengers last year (an 11 percent hike from 2011)–continues as an economic anchor. Not surprising when you’re Florida’s largest port in tonnage handled and geographic size.
Back in 2005 a study by Martin Associates quantified its regional effect. It said the Port generated $8 billion in economic impact. Martin’s latest study has upped that figure to $15.1 billion in 2012. It reflects the direct and indirect supporting of some 80,000 jobs.
As someone who covered the port back in the early 1980s, I can vouch for its increasing diversity. While bulk cargo–phosphate out and petroleum in–is obviously still the staple, the port is making inroads in the general cargo sector. Earlier this year it landed Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co. service to complement that of Zim Integrated Shipping, an Israeli container service. MSC is the world’s second largest container shipping line, and the largest one serving the U.S. market.
In addition, the port is realizing the benefits of tens of millions of dollars in rail and road improvements that will expedite the unloading of fuel and cargo from the docks. Ultimately, the port is positioning itself for more Latin American cargo–as well as de facto status as the cargo gateway to the Central Florida market.
Port of Tampa CEO Paul Anderson doesn’t take his domain for granted–and didn’t mince any words when the Martin report came out. The port, he underscored, “is the economic foundation of this community.” Still.