Professional Report

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in July 2014, Florida surpassed New York to become the na- tion’s third most populous state with 19. 9 million people. From July 2013 to July 2014, 293,000 new residents moved to the state. This increase in population is driving the need for expanded warehousing and distribution networks to provide services to this population.

Additionally, Florida has the unique status of attracting the highest number of tourists in the U.S., whose origins are both domestic and international. In the first half of 2015, 54 million tourist visited Florida. Projections by year end 2015 are 110 million visitors, equivalent to 300,000 people a day, or a sizable town, moving around the state consuming goods and services. The majority of these tourists visit the Central Florida theme parks and attractions.

As of July 2015, Florida’s current unemployment rate was 5. 4 percent and job growth for the first half of 2015 was an average of 3. 5 percent per month. The highest job growth rates in July 2015 over July 2014 are:

• Construction ( 6. 6 percent)

• Education and Health Services ( 4. 2 percent)

• Leisure/Hospitality ( 4. 8 percent)

• Trade/Transportation / Utilities ( 3. 5 percent)

Distribution of Goods and Services in Florida: Logistics networks in Florida are designed to reach the maximum population in the shortest amount of delivery time. Locations along the I- 4 Corridor between Orlando and Tampa provide access to 12. 3 million people within a five-hour drive time because of its location in the center of the State. No other location in Florida can achieve this critical threshold.

Along with regional expansion, new companies entering the Florida market are one of the main drivers increasing demand for industrial warehousing. When a major industrial user enters the Florida market for the first time, our experience shows that their distribution network usually consists of the “hub” point with the largest facility being in Central Florida with a possible “spoke” smaller warehouse in Southeast Florida.

According to The Emergence of a Regional Logistics Hub, a report done by CBRE in 2014 , demand for commercial real estate from e-commerce retailers, parcel delivery firms, and transportation and logistics companies in Central Florida, is expected to surge over the next three years. In fact, it hit an all-time high in 2014. The factors that are attracting e-commerce retailers and the companies that support them to Central Florida include strong population growth, sophisticated transportation and logistics infrastructure, and an abundance of well-located, affordable industrial space.

According to the report, e-commerce retailers are expected to occupy an additional 3. 4 million square feet of industrial space in Central Florida over the next three years. Parcel delivery firms are expected to occupy an additional 800,000 square feet of space, while transportation and logistics companies could occupy as much as 860,000 of additional space between 2015 and the end of 2017.

Kenco Logistics, a major 3PL company, has address what they see as the top 10 cities for a distribution center in the U.S. The Orlando/Central Florida market is number six and the Tampa/ St. Petersburg is listed as number 7. The top ten are: