American and Caribbean markets that
already use Miami as their main port of
entry, offers Florida a “once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to transform its economy by
becoming a global hub for trade, logistics,
and export-oriented manufacturing activities.” The state is located “at the crossroads”
of east-west and north-south trade lanes
that will be home to more than 1. 1 billion
consumers by 2030, the report said.
Miami, which is expected to handle
900,000 TEU containers in 2011, expects a
doubling of its traffic to between 1. 7 million
and 2 million TEUs by 2020, and to between
3 million and 3. 5 million TEUs by 2030.
About half of the growth over the next decade
will come from a general increase in waterborne commerce, with the remainder coming
from stronger trade flows through an
expanded canal, according to port officials.
SHOWDOWN WITH SAVANNAH?
Still, it will not be easy to wrest market
share away from Savannah. The Georgia
port is in a geographically desirable position, capable of feeding western, northern,
and southern destinations via rail and
truck. Miami, by contrast, is at the end of a
long peninsula and lacks Savannah’s geographic advantages.
Johnson, however, argues that Miami’s
location is actually a benefit because of its
proximity to Latin and Caribbean markets,
as well as its strategic positioning in the
middle of an enormous arc sweeping
between Texas and Virginia.
Another potential shortcoming is that
Miami’s basin, unlike Savannah’s, is too
small to allow the post-Panamax vessels to
turn around in the harbor to head out.
Kevin T. Lynskey, the Port of Miami’s assistant director for business development,
said the port has a plan to address that
shortfall. He said the turning radius in the
basin is being widened as part of the dredging project, and that the port should be able
to handle the larger ships.
A Florida-based source close to the situation said Savannah’s solid position as an
on-dock rail feeder will make it a formidable impediment to Miami’s plans for
growth in the post-Panamax world. Miami
“will get some traffic, but not to the degree
that everyone expects,” said the source, who
asked not to be named.
Yet developments are afoot that
suggest the opposite. Private-sector
interests have joined forces to develop Florida’s first inland port—a
facility designed to link the seaports, via road and rail, with a centralized warehouse and distribution
cluster that will serve population
centers throughout Florida and the
Southeast United States. The 2,300-
acre facility, located in southwest St.
Lucie County about 90 miles from
the Port of Miami and 50 miles
from Port Everglades, will cost
about $2 billion and take about 15
years to complete.
The first phase will be finished in
2014 to coincide with the expanded
canal’s opening and the completion
of Miami’s dredging project.
The inland port “will create an
entirely new industrial model for
Florida, ultimately providing a con-
nection to direct on-dock rail serv-
ice at Florida’s key seaports, along
with easy access to all major high-
ways,” said John Carver, who heads
the ports, airports, and global infra-
structure practice for Chicago-
based real estate and logistics servic-
es giant Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL),
which has been named the exclusive
project adviser.
