News & Updates
Seaport Spotlight: JAXPORT
JAXPORT is Florida’s largest container port by volume and one of the nation’s top vehicle-handling ports. The port owns, maintains, and markets three cargo terminals, two intermodal rail terminals, and one passenger cruise terminal along the St. Johns River. As one of the nation’s most diversified ports, JAXPORT has experienced labor for a variety of specialty cargos including breakbulk, fresh and frozen, forest products, high and heavy, U.S Military, and project cargo.
Dozens of ocean carriers call JAXPORT, offering shippers competitive transit times to 140 ports in more than 70 countries. JAXPORT offers ocean carrier services to all major world regions, including direct container service connecting Jacksonville with Asia, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and Central America. The world’s leading ocean carrier alliances call JAXPORT, with regular services to destinations throughout Asia through both the Panama and Suez canals.
The port’s largest growth initiative, deepening 11 miles of the Jacksonville shipping channel from 40 feet to 47 feet, which included constructing a vessel turning basin for larger ships to turn at Blount Island berths, was completed in 2022. An additional $100 million in recently completed berth enhancements enable Blount Island to simultaneously accommodate two post-Panamax ships. More than $72 million in phased yard improvements are also underway to modernize and expand container capacity at the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal at Bound Island.
JAXPORT’s terminals are located within minutes of three major Interstate highways — I-10, I-75, and I-95 — providing access to more than 98 million consumers within one day’s drive. JAXPORT is served by more than 100 trucking firms and 40 daily trains via Class I railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern, and regional Florida East Coast Railway.
The region is a global leader in the use of liquified natural gas (LNG) as a clean marine fuel. JAXPORT is home to four LNG-powered ships and two LNG-fueling barges and is the only U.S. East Coast port to offer on-dock and near-dock LNG fueling capabilities for ships. A convenient, centrally located drive-to cruise market, Jacksonville is also home to the 2,052-passenger Carnival Elation, offering four- and five-day cruises to the Bahamas.
JAXPORT is Northeast Florida’s economic engine, with cargo and cruise activity supporting more than 139,000 jobs in Florida and $31.1 billion in annual economic impact.