Explanation of Indicator
The state of Florida is particularly attractive to the shipping
industry because of its proximity to foreign markets and waterways.
These amenities have attracted a significant amount of port
business which has had a decisive effect on the state's economy.
Indeed, Florida's seaports are large contributors to the state's
economy; in 1993 the ports handled more than 92 million tons of
cargo. Further, in 1993 international trade contributed more than
$40 billion dollars to Florida’s economy. At current levels of
activity, it is estimated that the ports (including trade and
cruise activity) and port-dependent businesses create over 300,000
jobs and generate $600 million in state and local tax revenues.1
There are currently 14 publicly-owned, deepwater seaports in the state. The current ports are:
The South Atlantic Ports
Port of Fernandina Port of Fort Pierce Port of Miami Port of Jacksonville Port of Palm Beach Port of Key West Port Canaveral Port Everglades
The Gulf Coast Ports
Port of Pensacola Port St. Joe Port of St. Petersburg Port of Panama City Port Manatee Port of Tampa
Each of these ports contributes to the stability of the state and local economies. This indicator focuses only on the number of people employed by ports, the fees paid to ports (e.g., for storage and transport of goods), and the total operating revenue ( i.e., gross revenue) for each port. This indicator measures the ports’ contribution to the economy within these parameters.
Data Characteristics
SOURCE
Information on numbers of people employed by ports and fees paid to ports must be obtained from each port. Operating revenues can be obtained from Nancy Leikauf, Director of Communications, Florida Ports Council, P.O. Box 10137, Tallahassee, Florida
32302, or at (904) 222-8028.
ACQUISITION
Operating revenues are available at no cost.
COLLECTION
The data are collected and compiled by each port on different schedules.
Data Limitations
At the present time there are no port-by-port economic analyses.
The fact that data on fees and numbers of jobs are available
only from the individual ports is complicated by the fact
that calendar years and fiscal years vary by port, and the
fourteen ports operate under fourteen different types of
local government. In addition, ports do not impact exclusively
on the coastal counties; ports are part of a state-wide transportation
system. Also, because there are not neat separations between the
activities of each port, the importance of ports as a whole to the
state of Florida may not translate well when ports are examined
individually instead of as a cohesive unit. For example, numbers
of people employed by ports do not accurately account for the people
(e.g., truck drivers who transport cargo once it has left a port)
who are employed outside of ports but who, without ports, may not be
employed.1
Recommendations
It is recommended that the Florida Coastal Management Program develop a survey and administer it to each of the ports to obtain data on fees paid to ports and numbers of people employed by ports. In order for the information to be comparable across all
of Florida’s ports, data would have to be collected in a consistent manner and on the same schedule. Nancy Leikauf of the Florida Ports Council is extremely knowledgeable about the impacts of ports on the entire state and on the ways ports operate;
coordination of this effort to collect data would benefit from her direction.