Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced that his state’s seaports would be able to solve the Biden administration’s ongoing supply chain crisis by offering an alternative to the clogged ports in other states across the country.
DeSantis made the announcement during a press conference at the Port of Jacksonville. DeSantis pointed to places like California, where multiple seaports have a record number of ships waiting to unload.
At the event, DeSantis said:
“Year after year we continue to invest in our seaports, in infrastructure and in workforce education to make sure our supply chain is resilient. I’m especially proud of Florida’s seaports. They are crown jewels in our state. While other U.S. ports are just now announcing around-the-clock operations, in Florida many of our ports are used to serving Florida farmers, families and businesses with 24 hour operations.
“As the rest of the nation faces rampant inflation and businesses stare down unprecedented supply chain problems, our message is this: Florida is here, we have capacity, we have incentive packages to help businesses who want to move here and we are going to make sure Americans get their Christmas Gifts this season.”
According to a press release from DeSantis’ office, Florida has invested almost $1 billion into its seaports since 2019 “to ensure there is capacity to serve as much cargo as possible. The Florida Department of Transportation has also invested heavily in infrastructure and is scheduled to invest another $200 million into more infrastructure improvements over the coming years to ensure there are no significant logjams or freight movement delays.”
“The Governor has displayed tremendous leadership in continuing to recognize the value our seaports provide in meeting the mission of safely moving goods throughout the region,” said Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Kevin J. Thibault, P.E. “The partnership we have with our deepwater seaports uniquely positions Florida to be that much needed destination to get goods to market and overcome the delays seen at other locations.”
