here [container, bulk, break-bulk and roll on/roll off (RO-RO) cargo]. Each of them contribute positively to the cash flow of this business and it is important that we maintain diversity in order to ensure that this business is successful." [Note: Containers are the metal boxes that you see stacked on the ships, hauled on semi-trailer trucks' chassis, or moving piggyback on railroad cars. Bulk is cargo such as sand, concrete, red clay, oil, natural gas or similarly shipped items. Break-bulk are items loaded by crane into the hold or onto the ship that are self-contained (a modular housing unit, a shipping crate or a locomotive might fit this category). Roll on/ roll off cargo is usually thought of as automobiles. For example, Crowley and some other lines actually load containers as RO-RO.] 4. Ensure that there plans for profitable business growth in the next three to five years. Mr. Taylor is emphatic that “we can’t sit here and wait for deep water. We have to grow this business today.” 5. Balance the interests of constituent groups. Connect with key initiatives focused on environmental stewardship. Mr. Taylor states, “We recognize the value of the river and the ocean. We also have to balance that with the commercial needs for growth in the region. We’ll be very careful about how we strike that balance.” 6. Operate in a fiscally responsible fashion and demand an equitable return on dollars we spend. Mr. Taylor says, "We are spending the public’s money; we have a responsibility to make sure that we spend those dollars responsibly.”
RO-RO cargo being unloaded/Photo from JAXPORT Website
MOI: What do you see as JAXPORT’s strengths and weaknesses? Brain Taylor: Certainly chief among our major strengths are our location, our premiere road and rail connections and the diversity of our business. If you consider that Jacksonville is located due south of Ohio making JAXPORT the most westerly port on the U.S. East Coast, you can see that a shipper wanting to move a product or part to or from a market anywhere in the southeast or mid-west can save transit time by using our port. And of course, time is money. As far as Florida is concerned, once a piece of cargo comes into JAXPORT it no longer has to travel north to travel west. Not all the ports in our vicinity can 36 - MOIJACKSONVILLE.COM JULY 2014
make that claim. When you add on the excellent interstate system and three railroads serving JAXPORT, you get the full package offering just what our industry demands: efficient and cost effective movement of cargo. We have other strengths worth mentioning: a deep and stable workforce, great partnerships with state and federal agencies such as the Florida Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as well as a supportive community. Our main challenge, one that we share with every port in the nation, is the huge cost of maintaining seaport facilities and equipment, And that’s just