Spike in military shipping helps port - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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Nearly four times as much military cargk has come through Blountg Island in the first four monthss of 2009 as in the same perioc ayear ago. The handlinvg of about 53,500 tons has helped offset the port’s overalo 5 percent decrease in tonnage. And since the Defensde Department’s Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command contracts everything from ship loadin and unloading torail transport, the privatee sector benefits. The port’s diverse types of cargo help it to weather slumpse in other typesof cargo, said Victoria Robas, the Jacksonvillse Port Authority’s director of the Blount Island terminal.
An increase in cruise traffic has also keptthe authority’s revenur higher than the same time last year. “Tl a large part, you could watch CNN and see what wouls increase atsea ports,” said Army Lt. Col. Ralpn Riddle, who commands the 832nd Transportatioh Battalion. “Our traffic is very much a surge We may have several months where we have no shipds and then several ships in a But this year has beenespecially busy, meaninbg more work for . Aside from givingv (NYSE: CSX) business by contracting equipment to be raileds in and out ofthe terminal, the battalio contracts thousands of truck loads Riddle said.
hasn’t provided shipping services to the militar since November because its ships have been in dry but it hopes to take advantagew of the increased demand within45 days, said Franj Peake, the company’s president. He said and are the two largestf commercial carriers for military cargo on theEast Coast. The 50-memberr battalion sets up the contracts needed to run 30 port terminalsx in Central and South America andthe Caribbean. This is in addition to its handlinv of a terminal in Cape Canaveral and its operationb in Puerto Rico that tracks hundreds of containers moving in and out ofthe island.