JAXPORT has signed a $60 million agreement with the Tennessee-based Ceres Terminals.
Under the new 20-year lease, which was signed on Monday, Ceres is set to increase capacity at one of JAXPORT's three cargo terminals, primarily for shipments from countries in Asia and South America.
Ceres CEO Craig Mygatt said the new partnership could bring products like furniture and cars to Jacksonville shoppers faster.
"If you need a couch, you haven't bought it yet through the pandemic, then you have an opportunity to get it faster," Ceres CEO Craig Mygatt said.
The agreement also includes at least $15 million in port upgrades.
"At first you won't see a lot of change, but over time there's a lot of equipment that needs to be replaced," Mygatt said.
JAXPORT CEO Eric Green said he hopes the investment will support more jobs on the First Coast.
“When we put together JAXPORT’s Strategic Master Plan, our focus was growing cargo volumes and the private sector jobs they support," Green said. "This agreement is a major step forward in the evolution of that plan."
Ceres is purchasing the terminal's previous leaseholder, TraPac Jacksonville, which scaled back services last year.
The company operates in more than 20 ports, but said its Jacksonville terminal will now be its largest.
Passenger traffic at JAXPORT is expected to pick up soon as well.
JAXPORT’s chief of regulatory compliance, Nick Primrose told the port's board Monday that Carnival Cruise Line will return to the First Coast next month.
"Carnival will be coming back to Jacksonville on March 7, almost two years to the date from the no sail order," Primrose said.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, JAXPORT required Carnival cruise ships to be at least 80% full. But after the CDC’s no-sail order in 2020, and conditional sailing order last fall, Carnival told JAXPORT it may not be able to meet that requirement anymore.
On Monday, the JAXPORT board agreed to negotiate a new agreement with the cruise ship operator, which would likely include a lower capacity requirement.
In the meantime, the first cruises sailing from Jacksonville next month are heading to the Bahamas.
JAXPORT gets about $28 per cruise passenger.
