b'2American Journal of Transportation ajot.comFlorida Gulf Coast portsFLORIDA PORTS 2021host array of traditional and atypical activitiesBy Paul Scott Abbott, AJOTFrommovingcontain- trans-Pacific boxship services erizedproduceimportsandat Port Tampa Bay are a pair wood pellet exports to hostingof offerings crossing the Gulf operationssupportingspaceofMexico,furnishingcom-explorationandoceanfloorpetitive alternatives to truck-pipe-laying, ports on the Gulfing.InDecember,longtime Coast of Florida are home to aPort Tampa Bay partner ZIM broad array of activities. Integrated Shipping Services Unslowed by COVID-19launched a weekly container andlandfallsofhurricanes,service to and from Mexicos the diverse ports of the Flor- Port of Altamira, while Work idaWestCoastandPanhan- Cat commenced weekly sail-dlehavecontinuedtomoveingsmoving53-foot-long healthyvolumesofcargocontainersbetweenTampa whileadvancinginfrastruc- and the Port of Brownsville, tureprojectstoefficientlyTexas, just north of the U.S.-accommodate future business. Mexico border.BeginningalongTampa(ARRAYcontinued on Bayandmovingnorthandpage 9) Port Panama Citys West Terminal is home to breakbulk and containerized cargo shipping operations.then westward, heres whats happening at Florida seaports along the Gulf of Mexico:P ortM anateeThe viral pandemic hasnt dampenedactivityatPort Manatee,nearTampaBays entrance.Indeed,arecord 88,466twenty-foot-equiva-lentcontainerunitscrossed theManateeCountyports docks in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2020, up 54.6 per-centfromthepreceding 12-month period. Driving the vibrant con-tainer trade are Port Manatee-based World Direct Shipping, importing produce and other goodsfromMexicosince 2014,andFreshDelMonte Produce, in its fourth decade bringing Latin American fruit to its bustling Southeast dis-tribution center, now on new ecofriendly refrigerated con-tainerships.To help facilitate efficient handling of surging volumes,YOUR FRONT DOOR TO THE I-4PortManateeisadvancing toward anticipated mid-2021 completionan$8.3million projecttonearlydouble,FLORIDAS DISTRIBUTION HUB:to 19.3 acres, the size of its dockside container yard. ThatPORT TAMPA BAY & THE I-4 CORRIDOR Distribution Centersundertaking,boostedbya state grant, is the cornerstoneORLANDOofatwo-year,$38million400 million square feet of distribution center space PORTTAMPA capitalenhancementinitia- One of the hottest industrial real estate markets in the U.S. BAYtive at the diverse port, which serves as a preferred gatewayE-commerce, consumer products, manufacturing and refrigerated goodsto burgeoning Southwest andMajor terminal expansion underway with plenty of room for growthCentral Florida markets whileExpanding global container connections with Asia, Latin America and beyondbeing promoted as the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to theNew direct weekly Mexico serviceexpandedPanamaCanal.A major berth expansion could get under way later this year. Your last mile just got shorter.P ortt aMPaB ay WWW.PORTTB.COMWithnumerousservice additions over the past couple ofyears,PortTampaBays containerterminal,oper-ated by Ports America, keeps growing as a prime gateway forhundredsofdistribution centersliningthedynamic Interstate 4 corridor between1101 CHANNELSIDE DRIVE, TAMPA, FLORIDA 33602Tampa and Orlando.Joiningrecentlyadded'