The biggest issue facing the warehousing and logistics industry in Jacksonville is keeping up with the demand we’re seeing from companies that are looking to invest and expand in Jacksonville.
We have seen incredible growth over the last several years, with companies including Amazon, Wayfair, Anderson-DuBose and Walmart choosing Jacksonville as an ideal location to reach customers throughout the Southeast.
In 2024 alone, JAXUSA Partnership helped land projects in the transportation and logistics industry that will create more than 500 jobs and $375 million in capital investment for the region.
Our location and the infrastructure investments we’ve made certainly help. We are the westernmost port on the Eastern Seaboard and have robust interstate and rail access that gives companies same-day access to more than 98 million people.
We also know we must keep our foot on the gas – particularly in growing the talent pipeline and working to have sites as ready as possible for development.
Today, we have tens of thousands of people working in transportation and logistics in the Jacksonville region.
Seven regional colleges have degree or certificate programs in this field and there are eight Career Technical Education programs for this in area high schools.
Promoting the opportunities in this industry is key to further growth. For example, we are hosting a Transportation and Logistics educator externship in June, where local high school teachers will visit JaxPort, CSX, Suddath, Amazon and more.
This externship is designed for teachers to better understand what skills these companies are looking for and how students can access these opportunities.
Our partners in commercial real estate have been key to our success, investing in speculative warehouses and making sure companies can see a realistic path from approval to turning dirt to cutting a ribbon on a new facility.
The working relationship between government, workforce development and commercial real estate has opened important opportunities to grow in transportation and logistics.
We must continue to develop a talented workforce and be ready to move on available land so we can keep up with demand.
JAXUSA Partnership is the economic development division of the Jax Chamber.