Florida Seaport System Plan - SeaCIP

Florida Seaport System Plan
3.3 Categorization of Florida’s Seaports
As with other modal systems, it is important to characterize or categorize the types of
seaports in Florida. Florida’s seaports vary by size and type of operations. Some are
specialized in one type of operation while others handle a variety of cargo types. For
example, the Port of Miami exclusively handles international containers; the Port of
Tampa handles a mix of bulk, break bulk, and containerized cargo. Some seaports
function as major trade gateways, while others handle local traffic or niche
movements. Port Everglades provides petroleum products that serve all of South
Florida; the Port of Panama City is one of the U.S. leaders in the import of copper.
The location of a port also dictates where it fits in the overall transportation system.
For example, cargo off loaded at a south Florida port bound for the Midwest would
have to be trucked or put on rail through Florida to reach its destination, adding cost
to the shipment and congestion to highways and rail lines in Florida. Understanding
the impact on the transportation system as a whole is crucial to making the system
function smoothly.
The Seaport System Plan categorizes Florida’s seaports as national/Florida
cargo hubs, regional/niche cargo hubs, and/or major cruise hubs (see
Figure 3.7). This categorization begins to outline how each seaport with its
individual focus works in concert with the others to function as a system of
domestic and international gateways within Florida.
• Major cargo gateway ports represent Florida’s major seaport facilities. They
serve as major trade gateways for domestic and international cargo, handling a
mix of commodities that serve regional, state, and national markets. This
includes commodities that are strategic to Florida such as petroleum and
aggregate. These seaports rely on deep water access and strong landside
intermodal connections. There are four seaports in Florida that meet these
characteristics: Port of Miami and Port Everglades in South Florida; Port of
Tampa in West Central Florida; and Port of Jacksonville in Northeast Florida.
• Regional cargo gateway ports represent small- to medium-sized seaports
handling key cargo moves. Seven of Florida’s seaports are categorized as
regional/niche, ranging in size and operation. They typically serve local or
regional markets; in some instances they serve niche national markets.
Intermodal connectors are critical to these hubs to ensure market connectivity.
Examples include: Port of Palm Beach, which handles an export market of
consumer products as well as agricultural products; and Port of Panama City,
which handles a niche copper market as well as a local consumer market.
• Five of Florida’s seaports are major cruise hubs. These facilities are
defined as those that carry more than 800,000 passengers annually. They
require strong road, transit, and air connections for passenger traffic. The
Port of Miami, Port Everglades, and Port Canaveral are leaders in the global
cruise industry, each carrying over three million passengers per year; Key
West and Tampa each carry more than 800,000 passengers.
3-12 Florida Department of Transportation
December 2010