by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Given the war with Iraq, the price of gas, the nationwide epidemic known as “layoffs” and the overall state of the economy, it’s simply hard to fathom that the Jacksonville Port Authority — which set a record for tonnage a year ago — is ahead of last year’s pace.
But that’s exactly what’s happening.
According to the latest numbers, Jaxport is up three percent — year-to-date — over last year’s totals. Led by vehicle traffic, which is up an astounding 19 percent, the port’s tonnage was 4,275,496 through the end of April (last year at this time they were at 4,155,557). Understandably, the war with Iraq has contributed to this increase with much of the vehicle traffic coming in the form of military cargo shipped through Blount Island Marine Terminal to the Persian Gulf.
Robert Peek, the port’s manager of public relations, said two key elements are enabling Jaxport to stay relatively insulated from serious economic woes: the port’s diversity and the war in Iraq.
“We have talked for a long time about the importance of being diverse in our cargo types,” said Peek. “The fact we are able to show gains in a flat time, economy-wise around the world, is attributed to the fact we are a diverse port.
“We have four major components whereas a lot of ports are exclusive. They either ship container or break bulk goods [lumber, rolls of steel, paper, wood pulp]. There are advantages to being a specialty port. The disadvantage is that if there is a downturn in that segment of cargo, you really get whacked. With a variety of cargoes, you are not overly reliant upon any one.”
Peek explained that Jacksonville’s strategic military location and the port’s ability to easily ship military-related cargo is, statistically, the number one reason vehicle tonnage is above last year’s pace.
“A lot of that is equipment and rolling stock — things you can drive on and drive off ships,” said Peek. “Humvees, water trucks and front-end loaders are very heavy. They count as vehicle tonnage for us.”
Break bulk goods are also up — “There was a push last year to increase our break bulk,” said Peek — and the current trend should continue. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30 and Peek expects the last five months of the year to virtually mirror the first seven months. Peek said the only unknown is whether, as the United States — as promised — begins to rebuild Iraq, the equipment, goods and personnel shipped to the Mideast goes through one or two main ports or several across the country.
“The government may consolidate things or we may see a lot of ports get traffic,” said Peek, adding Jaxport is in a good position given its location and shipping capacities. “We have demonstrated the ability to move cargo quickly and efficiently for the military.”
Peek also pointed out Jaxport is on the verge of becoming even diverse. The addition of cruise ships to the port’s portfolio will help to further insulate Jaxport from inevitable economic downturns.
“People are excited about the cruise ships,” said Peek. “They mean more commerce and more revenue to us. It’s another advantage that we haven’t talked about as a fifth cargo type — passengers.”
One number is down so far this year and Peek expects that trend to continue, too. The number of vehicles going through the Port is slightly behind last year’s pace, but Peek says that’s not surprising and certainly not alarming. After setting a record by moving 615,000 vehicles last fiscal year, the Port is on pace to move about 600,000 this year.
“We not only completely understand, but the fact is it was a record year last year and we expect that number to come down,” said Peek. “We anticipate the last quarter of the year to go similarly to the first three quarters. We’d be pleased if the numbers stayed the same. We think it’s been a solid year given all the variables.”