Billions of Trade Benefits for Florida

by Brad Peck

Why we support Trade Month, the Billions:

• Florida exported $44.8 billion in manufactured goods to the world in 2007.
• In 2006, Florida agricultural exports were estimated at $1.7 billion, totaling 24% of agricultural revenue.
• Goods moving through Florida’s seaport gateways in 2006 were valued at nearly $73.5 billion.
• Goods moving through the state’s airport gateways were valued at over $34.8 billion.

The Jobs:

• 95% of the nearly 29,000 companies that exported goods in 2005 were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
• In 2007, Florida-produced manufactured goods generated nearly 388,700 jobs for workers in Florida.
• There are 226,000 Florida workers employed by foreign companies.
• U.S. subsidiaries support 34,800 manufacturing jobs in Florida.

Manufacturing companies tend to have a strong "multiplier" effect on the economy—stimulating a substantial amount of activity and jobs in other sectors through their demand for inputs from other suppliers.

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, a U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese tire and rubber company, invested $44 million in a one million square foot distribution and logistics center on the northern portion of Cecil Commerce Center. The project is expected to create about 250 new jobs, resulting in an expected annual payroll of approximately $9.5 million.

The new facility is also expected to indirectly result in the creation of approximately 219 new jobs in the transportation and maritime sectors at JAXPORT.

Moving from Jacksonville to Tampa, Director of Trade Development Jim Pyburn at the Tampa Port Authority says:

"Total trade from all of the CAFTA Countries has increased 29% since the free trade agreement took effect. We are pleased with this result and support the passage of trade agreements as they open the gateway for trade."