Those BOOMING Port Predictions

[Ocklawaha]

Okay, some other ports are growing and expanding as well as our own, HOWEVER, none of these that I have read of are the HUBS for such lines as Mitsu and the other newbies coming here... We still have at least one more Biggie expected to announce and that might grow to 2 more! One from China and ONE from Germany. Now add those numbers to what we currently have, even allowing for the other guys to grow some, we will rocket past most all of the ports in the country! Listen y'all, this is my "WORLD" and i'm telling you,  Jax will NEVER be the same if this all comes to pass...

U.S. Waterborne Container Traffic by Port/Waterway in 2005
(Loaded and Empty TEUS1)

By Port TEUS   By Port Name   By State   Data   NDC Home
Port_Waterway_Name    ST    Domestic    Foreign    
......................................................TOTAL

Albany    NY .........................................5,725
Anchorage    AK................................293,318
Apra Harbor    GU................................42,036
Baltimore    MD.................................486,798
Baton Rouge    LA...............................4,090
Boston    MA........................................ 160,179
Bridgeport    CT.................................1,022
Camden-Gloucester    NJ....................65,864
Cedar Bayou    TX...............................7,198
Charleston    SC................................1,513,628
Chatham Strait    AK...............................2,811
Chester    PA.................................100,023
Clarence Strait    AK........................3,008
Clearwater River    ID........................5,616
Columbia Rv, Dalles-McNary    OR..........24,015
Columbia Rv, Vancouver-Dalles    OR.........1,010
Cordova    AK.................................4,632
East Pearl River    MS.......................31,448
Everett    WA................................11,907
Fernandina Beach    FL.....................15,847
Fort Pierce    FL..................................3,000
Freeport    TX..................................54,330
Galveston    TX.................................5,783
GIWW, Morgan City-Port Allen LA.............4,255
Great Lakes Port...................................198
Gulfport    MS...................................150,770
Haines    AK............................................3,066
Hilo    HI..............................................35,617
Honolulu    HI...................................855,766
Houston    TX.................................1,289,818
Icy Strait    AK...................................1,559
Jacksonville    FL...................................581,797
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Based on the new predictions of the new carrier hubs, we should break 2,500,000 units
This will place Jacksonville far ahead of most of the pack. Remember these figures don't include Fernandina, already passing many other Florida and SE ports!
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Juneau    AK ..........................................37,385
Kahului, Maui    HI..................................82,157
Kaunakakai Harbor    HI.......................1,247
Kawaihae Harbor    HI.......................60,267
Ketchikan    AK..................................33,677
Kodiak    AK ...........................................12,170
Lake Charles    LA..................................2,316
Little River    VA....................................959
Long Beach    CA.................................5,200,080
Los Angeles    CA..................................4,375,360
Mayaguez    PR..................................25,984
Memphis    TN...................................2,985
Metlakatla    AK....................................1,459
Miami    FL..............................................777,510
Mobile    AL..............................................24,499
Morehead City    NC..................................10,452
Naknek River    AK....................................2,407
Nawiliwili, Kauai    HI..............................35,967
New Orleans    LA...................................176,518
New York (NY and NJ)    NY.......................3,580,567
Newport News    VA.................................103,191
Norfolk Harbor    VA....................................1,436,178
Oakland    CA......................................1,560,559
Other Alaskan Ports/Wtwys AK....................6,181
Other Atlantic Ports/Wtwys........................547
Other Columbia Rv, OR,WA,ID2....................89
Other Gulf Coast Ports/Wtwys.....................2,228
Other Hawaiian Islands Port........................722
Other Pacific Ports/Wtwys..........................3,258
Pacific Islands excl. Hawaii..........................3,900
Palm Beach    Fl......................................138,670
Panama City    FL.....................................14,055
Petersburg    AK......................................26,622
Philadelphia    PA.......................................131,127
Port Angeles    WA.....................................3,533
Port Canaveral    FL......................................1,702
Port Everglades    FL..............................591,375
Port Hueneme    CA.....................................18,062
Port Manatee    Fl.......................................4,346
Portland    ME....................................... 3,418
Portland    OR............................................131,570
Richmond    VA.......................................40,670
Salem River    NJ........................................7,666
San Diego    CA......................................47,970
San Juan    PR........................................725,793
Savannah    GA.......................................1,485,830
Seattle    WA.........................................1,442,969
Sitka    AK...................................................12,072
Skagway    AK........................................3,474
South Louisiana, LA.......................................1,064
Tacoma    WA................................................1,545,169
Tampa    FL..................................................11,378
Unalaska Bay AK............................................50,676
Vancouver    WA........................................21,585
Whittier    AK............................................15,428
Wilmington    DE..........................................161,578
Wilmington    NC..........................................91,589
Wrangell    AK...........................................2,550
                              
Total...........................................................30,058,894
                              
1.TEU = Twenty Foot Equilvalent Units.Foreign empties not included.
2.Includes Snake River
Domestic Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center
Foreign Source: Commonwealth Business Media, Inc., Port Import Export Reporting Service


Ocklawaha

[thelakelander]

Overall, we shouldn't be too concerned about being tops and where we rank.  The greater concern should be with making sure additional growth does not subtract from our quality of life and instead enhances it.  Nevertheless, I assume we're only talking about containers and not other segments of port shipping activities.  To know for sure, we would have to compare Jax's expansion plans to other ports, especially on the East Coast, to get a proper evaluation? 

[Ocklawaha]

Yes, it is true that other ports have capacity expansion plans, but few have any "HUB" plans, as we have. My point is, seldom in the Transportation World is a hub announced, NEVER is it announced 2 or 3 times in the same location in the same couple of months. This is unheard of. What I'm getting at is this ISN'T your Mom's port anymore! If these others announce within this year, we will shake the whole Transportation Earth!

Yes, again, this is just container traffic. But the Container TEU is THE traffic of the future with more and more special containers coming on line to handle almost every type of cargo. Further, your CSX containers of RING POWER CAT parts, will fit CSX just fine, it will fit the ship just fine...and when it get's to my "Ferrocarril Atlantico de Colombia" which is only 3' gauge, it is going to fit that just fine too! No need to unload or trans-ship! Very important. So let the others go ahead and expand, and watch us explode with growth.

Herein is the catch, EXPLODE WITH GROWTH! I'm trying to pound in the point that we could be looking at 10,000 or more new residents almost instantly! Highly paid, professional and blue collar workers. New office space is going to be needed. JPA is talking to TWO MORE MAJORS and expects announcements! OMG! is JTA ready? (NOT!), Does the Airport have non-stops to Korea? Japan? Germany? China? Colombia? (Yes, Colombia, 2nd largest importer of Oil, and largest of Coal, Coffee, Flowers, Food to our ports, under their own flag!). Is downtown ready for an international influx? Does JIA, JPA, JTA, Skyway? Downtown? have multi-lingual signs?
Is anyone but CSX doubling the size of the rail yards? What are we doing with FEC and NS and Terminals Companies. The railroads already consider us a hub, what if airlines follow on the heals of this? This whole thing is SO MUCH BIGGER then what our locals seem to be getting...We need to push them for those international and infrastructure improvements YESTERDAY!

Ocklawaha

[Ocklawaha]

Just one more "LITTLE" point the non-transportation folks out there need to consider... Some of this new traffic is headed West! The ports in the West Coast are pretty much maxed out. So traffic is headed for Phoenix, Salt Lake, Denver, Dallas, Omaha, etc... Did you know that all transportation companies consider fuel costs in the routings? Did you know there is a fuel charge on the shipments? Now consider a container moving West from the East Coast...

Maine or New Hampshire? Right over the Green, White, Appalachian Mountains...
RI, CT, NY, NJ, DE? Ha! Over some of the most rugged parts of the Catskills, Poconos, Appalachians...
MARYLAND, VIRGINIA? Sorry Virginia...Sand Patch Grade, Devils Backbone, Appalachians,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia? Either you route down and through Atlanta, which involves the roller coaster Piedmont routes, then jet through Birmingham...which also isn't flat. Or you send it SOUTH to guess where?
JACKSONVILLE? The only rail-highway routes directly West without any grade! River routings can keep the heavies on a route as flat as a table top down the Mississippi Valley, Ohio, or Southwest to the Big Easy and on to Jacksonville... WE OWN THIS ONE!

Think about it...Those trains leaving Long Beach or Los Angeles with 12 locomotives on 50 cars and climbing Cajon Pass, out of the LA basin, could just be off loaded here and roll with 2 engines and 100 cars to the same point...now if your a big shipper, paying a fuel charge, which do you chose?

Ocklawaha

[thelakelander]

Yes, it is true that other ports have capacity expansion plans, but few have any "HUB" plans, as we have. My point is, seldom in the Transportation World is a hub announced, NEVER is it announced 2 or 3 times in the same location in the same couple of months. This is unheard of. What I'm getting at is this ISN'T your Mom's port anymore! If these others announce within this year, we will shake the whole Transportation Earth!

Assuming that two more terminals are announced and everything is built to operate at maximum capacity to get to the 2,500,000 units, how many years do you anticipate this happening?  10, 20, 30?

Yes, again, this is just container traffic. But the Container TEU is THE traffic of the future with more and more special containers coming on line to handle almost every type of cargo. Further, your CSX containers of RING POWER CAT parts, will fit CSX just fine, it will fit the ship just fine...and when it get's to my "Ferrocarril Atlantico de Colombia" which is only 3' gauge, it is going to fit that just fine too! No need to unload or trans-ship! Very important. So let the others go ahead and expand, and watch us explode with growth.

As of 2005, Charleston was the 4th largest container port in the country with 1,513,628 units, nearly 1,000,000 more than what we are shipping currently.  Yes, we have plans that will get us up to their current number in a decade or so, but they also are moving forward with plans to construct a 280 acre container terminal at the old naval base and are involved in talks of building a new port from scratch, south of the city.  Norfolk (1,436,178), Savannah (1,485,830), Houston (1,289,818), etc. also all are expanding container port operations in the same fashion that Jax is attempting to do.  In short, we're attempting to catch up (as of 2005 we were at 581,797), but the others aren't sitting back and doing nothing because they are agressively going after the same market.  

Herein is the catch, EXPLODE WITH GROWTH! I'm trying to pound in the point that we could be looking at 10,000 or more new residents almost instantly! Highly paid, professional and blue collar workers. New office space is going to be needed. JPA is talking to TWO MORE MAJORS and expects announcements! OMG! is JTA ready? (NOT!), Does the Airport have non-stops to Korea? Japan? Germany? China? Colombia? (Yes, Colombia, 2nd largest importer of Oil, and largest of Coal, Coffee, Flowers, Food to our ports, under their own flag!). Is downtown ready for an international influx? Does JIA, JPA, JTA, Skyway? Downtown? have multi-lingual signs?
Is anyone but CSX doubling the size of the rail yards? What are we doing with FEC and NS and Terminals Companies. The railroads already consider us a hub, what if airlines follow on the heals of this? This whole thing is SO MUCH BIGGER then what our locals seem to be getting...We need to push them for those international and infrastructure improvements YESTERDAY![/color][/b]

Ocklawaha

I don't know about the city government, but the private sector won't be caught off guard.  There's already an influx of speculative industrial facilities going up around the area and the port is looking at constructing a new railyard off Hecksher Drive.  Flights at the airport will increase as soon as there is suitable demand for them to do so.  The bigger question is if the city is ready to take advantage and plan smartly (ex. manufacturing at Cecil, push distribution hubs to other industrial parks,etc.).

[Ocklawaha]

Sure we agree that others won't take this sitting down, the thing we have is LOCATION, LOCATION and more LOCATION!, No matter if Savannah to Bangor finds a way to levitate the ships to and from their ports, the trains out of those places will have to contend with the Piedmont and Appalachians. This means there is only one table flat route from the East Coast to San Antonio, Mexico, or up the Mississisloppy River into the heartland, and WE NOT ONLY OWN IT, but the railroad is HQ'd Right here at home... Cat bird seat.

Ocklawaha

[thelakelander]

Norfolk has Norfolk Southern, a deeper channel, larger port and tunnels that don't limit the size of ships coming into the community.  Other communities have their benefits as well.  In the early 1900's location would have been a larger factor than what it is today.  We'll need to bring more to the table than location in today's economic climate.

[Ocklawaha]

True, most of Maryland and Virginia have superior entries and dock space as does NY and NJ, where the location makes the HUGE difference is in the cost to move the goods from the port inland. In that area, we beat them all from Maine to Savannah. All of their trains MUST climb the mountains or hills, we alone have a table flat line West. Believe me, that counts when costs are added up in the bill!

Ocklawaha

[thelakelander]

Excluding the Georgia Port Authority's facilities (Savannah/Brunswick), this may be true when only considering the Atlantic Coast.  However, if we're talking about flat lines to the east and west, we have to look at the Gulf Coast ports too.  Depending on how you look at it, Houston (1,289,818 as of 2005) can lay claim to this as well.   They are also expanding their container operations in this competitive industry.