Tampa Port Authority

Current economic headwinds and the short-term outlook have underscored the importance for ports to have diversity in their markets and across different lines of business. While the immediate outlook is uncertain, the long-term forecast for U.S. trade overseas remains solid, with growth in Florida again outpacing the national average. Certain trade lanes, including emerging markets such as Latin America, will see stronger economic growth than other regions. Ocean carriers taking delivery of more and larger vessels will be looking closely at deployment patterns, vessel-sharing arrangements and port rotations. Deep-water ports that are blessed with large local population bases will continue to see opportunities to expand their market share as importers and exporters seek to reduce their inland transportation costs and have their cargo delivered via water as close to their customers as possible. Some areas also are seeing increased investments in distribution center capacity as developers take advantage of lower real estate costs to position themselves for future expansion. The U.S. Gulf Coast is emerging as an increasingly important market. One of the fastest-growing regions of the country, the region provides a balanced export-import trade with major investments under way in port terminal capacity. Expansion of the Panama Canal will augment that growth through new and enhanced all-water services.