JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Today, dozens of city and local business leaders gathered downtown for Jax Port\u2019s annual \u2018State of the Port\u2019 address.<\/p>\n
During today\u2019s address, Jax Port CEO Eric Green outlined the port\u2019s long-term strategic priorities. <\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to make strategic decisions to grow diversified cargo volumes, increase efficiency, and increase Jax Port\u2019s economic impact,\u201d said Green <\/p>\n Green said in 2025, Jax Port moved nearly 1.4 million containers, more than 500,000 vehicles, and 10 million tons of cargo. He said that IT created more than 250,000 jobs and generated $44 billion in annual economic impact. <\/p>\n \u201cJax Port is truly a global port across all cargo types,\u201d said Green. <\/p>\n Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump\u2019s emergency tariff policy to impose tariffs on several countries. The President then said he is imposing a 10% global tariff in response. I asked Jax Port if these changes are having any impact on its operations. <\/p>\n \u201cBecause of our diversification, ports that have a single cargo type, tariffs can be very disruptive to them, but when you have such a diversification of businesses, it really allows you to spread any impact through many trade lanes of business,\u201d said Chelsea Kavanagh, Chief Communications Officer for the Jacksonville Port Authority. <\/p>\n \u201cReally, for us, it almost balances out. We typically see somewhere in the range about 5% up or down at any given time.\u201d <\/p>\n Green said progress has been made on raising the power lines at Blount Island to increase the airdraft clearance so bigger ships can come to the terminal. The project is on schedule to be completed in December. <\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n