Florida's Largest Port Brings Products Home for the Holidays

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Dec 05, 2017, 13:54 ET

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- For residents of Tampa Bay that pass through Channelside on any given day and see a sea of freshly-tanned cruise passengers toting their baggage around Port Tampa Bay (PTB), one might ask: what else does the Port handle besides nearly one million cruise passengers a year?

According to Port Tampa Bay President and CEO Paul Anderson, "Monumentally speaking; everything."

As you drink your glass of O.J. and run out the door to drive from store to store, each and every thing you touch likely has some connection to the Port. From a wide-ranging cargo mix to its cruise passenger popularity to repair of ships, Port Tampa Bay is truly among the nation's most diverse sea ports, affecting all of us on a daily basis.

Port Tampa Bay Brings Products Home for the Holidays

Encompassing over 5,000 acres, PTB is Florida's largest port in terms of physical size (and one of the largest in the country). The Port handles a wide array of bulk, break bulk, containers and roll-on/roll-off cargoes, and is a major shipbuilding and repair center. The Port also handles over 37 million tons of cargo every year and is the largest economic engine in west central Florida, supporting nearly 85,000 jobs and generating over $17 billion in annual economic impact. Most ports around the country typically handle one or maybe two types of cargo; Port Tampa Bay handles upwards of half a dozen; and soon to be more.

PTB handles everything from liquid bulk items like orange juice and petroleum to automobiles and shipping containers delivering endless consumer goods, like furniture and hundreds of other consumer-based products.

With large tracts of property zoned and available for manufacturing and industrial development, adjacent to deep water with excellent highway access, rail access and competitive energy costs, the Port's land is a strategic asset for attracting even more manufacturing with export intentions.

In order to keep up with demand and constant growth, Port Tampa Bay's new refrigerated expansion plans will enhance the Port's strategy to attract additional containerized services and cargo, as well as breakbulk cargo.

So as you begin the holiday season and go about your everyday tasks, think about all the products that are imported, exported and orchestrated to maintain our lifestyles. And remember, at Port Tampa Bay, we are delivering the holidays!

For more information on Port Tampa Bay, please visit www.porttb.com.

SOURCE Port Tampa Bay