JAXPORT Causing Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Port Officials Sleepless Nights

[Ocklawaha]

We might not be a first tier city but we have a couple of them on the run! This is very interesting as it is through the eyes of someone outside of Jacksonville.

"PSSSSST - Hey south Florida, better find a way to overcome those 350 miles your cargo has to travel before it can turn west, Midwest or just out of Florida."

South Florida ports face competition from Jacksonville
South Florida Business Journal - by Kevin Gale
Date: Monday, May 23, 2011,

Port Everglades and the Port of Miami could face more competition for intermodal rail traffic if CSX Corp. and the Jacksonville Port Authority get $58 million in federal funds to build an on-dock or near-rail facility.

Both of the South Florida ports are already beefing up their intermodal systems in anticipation of the completion of Panama Canal expansion in 2014, further increasing the amount of container traffic from Asia.

CSX Corp. has rail lines in South Florida, but Florida East Coast Railway officials have told me that their line handles containers for CSX down here.

Jacksonville is strategically important because the FEC Railway's tracks end there, and the line hands off container traffic to CSX and Norfolk Southern, which have railway yards in the city.

Our sister newspaper, the Jacksonville Business Journal, reports that U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, has been raising questions about how federal officals have been handing out Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grants.

Last month, Mica was critical of the fact that Florida only received $29 million for port infrastructure â€" $22 million for the Port of Miami intermodal service and $9 million for the Port of Manatee, which is on the south side of the mouth of Tampa Bay.

I previously contacted CSX about an article I wrote on the FEC rail yard in Hialeah, but never heard back. I was sort of curious if there was some sort of competition between the rail lines

Now, the Jacksonville newspaper's article indicates to me that there could be "coopetition" brewing, with the rail lines cooperating on traffic in South Florida, but the Jacksonville port and CSX trying to attract ocean carriers to Jacksonville.

One big potential advantage for Miami is that it has funding in place to dredge its port to the 50-foot depth that fully loaded post-Panamax ships need.

Jacksonville is also trying to attract a nuclear aircraft carrier, and some sources have suggested to me that could lead to dredging that would clear the way for the post-Panamax ships.

One other challenge Jacksonville has it that its port areas are along the St. Johns River, and rivers are generally regarded as more of a challenge to keep dredged. I'm told the Port of Miami doesn't have that problem, since it's located in Biscayne Bay.

Meanwhile, Port Everglades would still like to get funding for its dredging project, and has intermodal plans of its own.

Read more: South Florida ports face competition from Jacksonville | South Florida Business Journal

SOURCE: http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/2011/05/ports-face-competition-from-jacksonville.html

[Noone]

The new guy at the Port Paul Anderson is kicking butt.

Today is the release of the new JCCI study, Recession, Recovery, and Beyond. Look and see how our Port and River will be referenced.

Jacksonville Waterways Commission meeting in 5 hours council chambers. I'll be reminding the Commission of the Promised 680' Downtown Public Pier aka Bay St. Pier Park, aka Downtown Jacksonville's Tradeport Pier.

FIND is meeting this month in Brevard county.

Spencer Crowley is the chair of FIND and he is out of Miami. I met him and asked him if any relation to the Crowley shipping line. No relation. Still I was sharing with the FIND Commission members over a year ago about using containers on our pier in recognition of Jacksonville's emergence into the shipping business and wanting to capture some of this growing market. Nothing but positive remarks from the commissioners of FIND.

Also the recent competition of 6 design teams from SCAD Savannah College of Art and Design and one team using containers to promote the former Shipyards/Landmar site. Another team used the pier.

I hope that Mayor elect Alvin Brown along with the transition team will immediately recognize this positive psychological opportunity and even the idea of using a Blue Crowley shipping container will send the message throughout the state that Jacksonville of the 14 ports in Florida is serious about being a key player in this industry.

A Blue Crowley container on a set of Railroad tracks even if its not on the pier but next to the pier will be a daily reminder of Mayor Peyton's Blueprint for Prosperity and how that visual will be a catalyst for the Flex space. You would have to talk about a street car line being one shot going all the way down Bay St. It would be a Daily reminder. An organic cluster of incremental community involvement one railroad track at a time. I'd volunteer for that.

Lets lay one piece of track at a time. Are we all ready to sing "I'll be working on the Railroad."

Ock, you rock. Lets Make it Happen.

[tufsu1]

so Miami get $77 million from the state....Jax gets $12.5 million...and they're scared of us?

[Ocklawaha]

so Miami get $77 million from the state....Jax gets $12.5 million...and they're scared of us?

Hopefully for them, they have found a magic way to transport all of their northbound cargo's to a point where they could turn west or Midwest. Maybe they also have made a secret offer to steal away the former maritime commissioner from his new home?

JAXPORT Board of Directors officially names former Federal Maritime Commissioner Anderson as CEO

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) Board of Directors today announced that former Federal Maritime Commissioner A. Paul Anderson will join JAXPORT as Chief Executive Officer and will assume his responsibilities the week of January 17, 2011. The board unanimously approved Anderson’s selection as the new port director.

Then there was the "super port" concept that rolled out of Washington and named only Miami and Jacksonville in the entire state of Florida. Guess which one now has the political connections to make things happen? Those grants were applied for before Anderson came to Jacksonville, let's give him the bridge and the simple marching orders, "All ahead full."

Hey I've got an idea for a TV commercial for JAXPORT. Let's show a aerial of Miami's Port, or Tampa, etc... and talk about how sunny and nice Miami is and what a great port they have. Camera follows containers being loaded onto train cars during the narration, then cuts to scenes of FEC and CSX trains racing north with a little dollars per mile screen in the corner... As the train crosses the St. Johns we get a sweeping view of Jacksonville in the early evening in all of it's riverfront beauty. Camera cuts quickly up down river to Blount Island, scenes of incredible night action at Jaxport. Narration goes to a pseudo-sarcastic "Of course some people chose JAXPORT and saved the 350 miles...CHA-CHING!"

I think in the long-term, Miami, Tampa, Everglades, etc... will service South and Central Florida, while JAXPORT will slowly become the dominant force in the Southeast.

[thelakelander]

That would be a pretty good commercial.

[wsansewjs]

so Miami get $77 million from the state....Jax gets $12.5 million...and they're scared of us?

Hopefully for them, they have found a magic way to transport all of their northbound cargo's to a point where they could turn west or Midwest. Maybe they also have made a secret offer to steal away the former maritime commissioner from his new home?

JAXPORT Board of Directors officially names former Federal Maritime Commissioner Anderson as CEO

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) Board of Directors today announced that former Federal Maritime Commissioner A. Paul Anderson will join JAXPORT as Chief Executive Officer and will assume his responsibilities the week of January 17, 2011. The board unanimously approved Anderson’s selection as the new port director.

Then there was the "super port" concept that rolled out of Washington and named only Miami and Jacksonville in the entire state of Florida. Guess which one now has the political connections to make things happen? Those grants were applied for before Anderson came to Jacksonville, let's give him the bridge and the simple marching orders, "All ahead full."

Hey I've got an idea for a TV commercial for JAXPORT. Let's show a aerial of Miami's Port, or Tampa, etc... and talk about how sunny and nice Miami is and what a great port they have. Camera follows containers being loaded onto train cars during the narration, then cuts to scenes of FEC and CSX trains racing north with a little dollars per mile screen in the corner... As the train crosses the St. Johns we get a sweeping view of Jacksonville in the early evening in all of it's riverfront beauty. Camera cuts quickly up down river to Blount Island, scenes of incredible night action at Jaxport. Narration goes to a pseudo-sarcastic "Of course some people chose JAXPORT and saved the 350 miles...CHA-CHING!"

I think in the long-term, Miami, Tampa, Everglades, etc... will service South and Central Florida, while JAXPORT will slowly become the dominant force in the Southeast.

I can make that commercial happen professionally. Just get someone to drive me around to different locations to capture, then I will take care of the rest.

-Josh

[02roadking]

Broward County commissioners have given Port Everglades approval to start negotiating an intermodal container yard deal with the Florida East Coast Railway.

Both Port Everglades and the Port of Miami have made plans for rail operations near their docks to handle growing trade â€" especially Asian cargo that is expected to increase after an expansion of the Panama Canal is completed in 2014.

Read more:


http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2011/06/14/port-everglades-gets-ok-to-negotiate.html

[Ocklawaha]

[/u][/i]

That would be a hoot Josh... We could show it to Mr. Anderson just to see if it would fly...

As for Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale, we still have two huge advantages over either one.

We are 350 miles closer to the rest of the United States

We have land measured in miles while all of south Floridas ports measure theirs in feet.

As to rail, as I've said before, WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER LARGE RAILROAD YARD not in the classic 30 track railroad yard image anyway! What we need is a multi-modal dockside container terminal and we already have tracks to within 3 blocks of Hanjin and on the dock at Blount Island or Talleyrand. This terminal would have loading zones, arrival and departure zones for 4 modes, Rail, Air, Sea, Highway. It won't look like a railroad yard and hopefully it will NEVER operate like one. Just think, moving train cars make money, stopped ones don't.


OCKLAWAHA

[wsansewjs]

[/u][/i]

That would be a hoot Josh... We could show it to Mr. Anderson just to see if it would fly...

As for Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale, we still have two huge advantages over either one.

We are 350 miles closer to the rest of the United States

We have land measured in miles while all of south Floridas ports measure theirs in feet.

As to rail, as I've said before, WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER LARGE RAILROAD YARD not in the classic 30 track railroad yard image anyway! What we need is a multi-modal dockside container terminal and we already have tracks to within 3 blocks of Hanjin and on the dock at Blount Island or Talleyrand. This terminal would have loading zones, arrival and departure zones for 4 modes, Rail, Air, Sea, Highway. It won't look like a railroad yard and hopefully it will NEVER operate like one. Just think, moving train cars make money, stopped ones don't.


OCKLAWAHA

For the aerial footage of the potential area of expansions of the JaxPort, we can hire a helicopter (one in Saint Augustine) to allow us take a good footage to add into this footage. I can turn your idea into a storyboard, then go from there with your own message and tweaks. We could have Uncle Ockie's narrating.

-Josh