Interview: Paul Anderson

Port Tampa Bay is eyeing a broader cargo mix, container terminal expansion as part of its diversification efforts

President & CEO – Port Tampa Bay

How has 2020 altered the trajectory of the port’s master plan Vision 2030? We continue to focus on diversification of our cargo mix. We’re one of the most diverse ports in the United States, certainly the most diverse in the state of Florida. During the black swan event that is COVID-19, that diversification has proven to be a true winning formula. Construction projects by departments of transportation were accelerated because of the virtually nonexistent traffic. We saw steel, cement and lumber pouring in. We launched a new lumber service during the pandemic that we had been working on for several years. The same can be said for aggregate and cement.

Our business plan always considered expanding our container terminals, which is what we’re doing. We’re focused on Latin American trade, which explains our fresh Mexican service. Mexico is already the secondlargest trading partner for the United States and with twoway trade in goods totaling over $665 billion annually, we think that’s going to grow significantly. Traditionally, the only option for Florida has been to get goods by rail and then by truck. So, we’re now a new option. With the new USMCA trade agreement, the United States is in a better position with its trading partners, which is bolstered by global sourcing strategies resulting in nearshoring manufacturing and distribution points for e-commerce and continued growth and expanded trade with Mexico.

How do you expect the Biden administration to impact your business? Our presence on a couple of national boards relating to freight mobility and expansion of freight infrastructure, as well as in the American Association of Port Authorities and the big freight coalition, the Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors, has sparked several discussions on the matter. There is opportunity for the infrastructure to grow. That’s one area where people on both sides of the aisle can agree. If you improve our roads, bridges, highways and mass transportation, the end result is more efficient connectivity. We’re optimistic that the Biden administration will focus on some of these areas. While we have yet to see a formal infrastructure budget, the messaging that we’re getting is positive.

What is your overall outlook for Port Tampa Bay? We are highly bullish on the future of Port Tampa Bay as a regional and statewide commerce and transportation facilitator. We’re an economic development engine for our entire state. With the growth of the container business, all the commodities, the construction materials that we handle, our future is bright. Adding cruise into the mix, we’re going to see our eighth record level of revenue in the nine years that I’ve been here.

( ) was personal protective equipment or computer chips. There is a growing call for reshoring in more than one industry, which could further spur local manufacturing.

What is more, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, recognizing the solid logistics and distribution ecosystem available, named Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami and Orlando as top COVID vaccine logistics hubs.

To further strengthen the cogs of its logistics and distribution machinery, Tampa Bay has unveiled a series of initiatives to guarantee its resilience going forward. As part of its Vision 2030, Port Tampa Bay will be looking to develop an on-port logistics park to inject renewed operational efficiencies to the benefit of both users and tenants. This bolstered logistics park will include 300,000 square feet of additional facilities to accommodate the area’s supply chain growth needs.

Port Tampa Bay Port Tampa Bay is a major lifeline for Tampa Bay’s economic activity, although the pandemic stressed supply chains across the globe, slowing activity at the port last year. Port Tampa Bay moved 5% less cargo in FY20 compared to FY19, totaling 32.85 million net tons versus 34.46 million net tons, respectively. Only dry bulk cargo managed to snatch a 3% uptick, going from 12.08 million net tons to 12.41 million net tons between FY19 and FY20.

A new weekly cross-Gulf container shipping service operated by Work Cat made its way into the port’s service portfolio, which is sure to enlarge its container handling capacity as early as 2021.

Another item of good news for the port is the agreement with the city of Tampa after two years of negotiations over the Channelside Drive improvements proposal from port authorities. Both parties had struggled to reach an accord between the city’s objective of improving pedestrian safety and the port’s concerns over hampered logistical efficiency.

The port also saw the approval of a lease agreement with California-based Celadon Development Co. to build a $160 million paper fiber manufacturing plant. Moreover, Sesco Cement Co. is looking to amend its lease to include a 6.8 acre expansion to its current 7 acres.

Tampa International Airport A logistics and transportation crown jewel in the region, Tampa International Airport is turning 50. After five decades of operations, its activity has never been more important for Tampa Bay. The airport provides 7,500 direct jobs, which rise to 121,159 jobs taking into account the multiplier effect inherent to airport operations and community support. The airport also generates $14.45 billion of economic impact, ranking fourth only behind Orlando ($41 billion), Miami ($33 billion) and Fort Lauderdale ($20.1 billion). Its impact climbs to $19 billion within including the airport’s impact on Tampa Bay District 7 aviation.

The airport is undergoing a massive rejuvenation that includes an aggregate $971 million in upgrades and expansions that began in 2018. The airport’s 2020 shutdown allowed work to advance at lightning speed to prepare the airport for the future of air cargo and travel. Recent advances include 16 new express passenger curbsides, a 35-acre SkyCenter commercial development and a central utility plant to be used as the main terminal.

Expansion of transit options will be key in ensuring Tampa Bay’s longterm success.

Looking ahead Tampa Bay’s buoyant population and economic growth

doubtlessly calls for disruptive, outside-the-box measures to introduce new, efficient solutions to longstanding problems. Local officials face challenge of not only finding the adequate resources to prepare the area’s mobility future, they also will need to tackle the court of public opinion, which according to recent surveys, wants better roads more than mass transit. Progress will be difficult unless residents get on the side of improved, multimodal transportation. For the longest time, Tampa Bay has been a car-centric community and COVID-19’s dampening of consumer confidence in mass transit use due to the heightened risk of contagion certainly hasn’t helped improve the situation.

On the logistics and distribution side of the ledger, Tampa Bay is expected to continue to ride the wave of the Amazon effect and the ongoing shift in the global supply chain. Critical investments to bolster efficiency, capacity and technological penetration for both its port and airport will prove critical in driving growth going forward.

Executive Director – Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority

We’ve been very pleased with working remotely. As an agency, we had a telework policy already established in 2019. We had it in place but no one was really taking advantage of it. The traditional way of thinking is you can’t work without being in the office. COVID has taught us that we can be productive while working at home. It wasn’t easy. Not everyone hit the ground running and weren’t as productive on day one as they are now. But we learned how to communicate, interact, have meetings and conduct all of the work that we previously completed in the office. It’s been very successful and effective for us. I can see us continuing this moving forward.

Bolstered by federal aid programs and looking to technology and disruption to bring about new levels of growth, Tampa Bay’s banking and finance sector carved out major victories in 2020 with a sunny outlook for 2021 and beyond.