June 25, 2026 — Northeast Florida (First Coast) new business activity

Northeast Florida's seven counties logged 643 new business filings the week of June 4 to 10, down 18.3% from the week before but nearly even with the same week last year.

Most of this week's step down is in Duval County. Duval fell 73 to 406, and that single county explains the bulk of the regional drop. Jacksonville inside it fell 62 to 389. Every county except Baker lost ground, and Baker only added 1 to reach 4. Nassau fell hardest in percentage terms, dropping 21 to 24.

The mix changed even as the total slipped. Professional services jumped 23 to 83 and took the top spot by count. Property holding and asset protection led the friendly mix at 89. Transportation and logistics rose 13 to 45. Retail added 8 to 45, and construction and trades added 5 to 64. The drags were hospitality and tourism, down 18 to 33, and management of companies.

Year over year the week is close. This week's 643 is only 11 below the 654 filed the same week in 2025. The longer pace is easing, though. The 13 week average sits at 743, so this week ran about 100 below normal, and the trailing 13 week total of 9,659 is down from 9,846 in the prior window.

A few spots grew against the regional slide. Green Cove Springs in Clay County jumped 9 to 23. Saint Augustine added 3 to 38. Those pockets are worth watching for vendors looking past Jacksonville.

Very little growth over the past 13 weeks with a dip this past week pulling the average down.

The bold line is the 13-week average. Read it for the longer trend. The thin line is each week's count, which swings week to week.

Professional Services grew the most this week, 23 more (up 38.3%). Hospitality & Tourism dropped the most, 18 fewer (down 35.3%). Several smaller sectors also grew.

Duval led the region this week with 406 new filings. 1 other county also grew from the week before.

• The Ocean Alliance, made up of CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping, Evergreen Marine, and OOCL, started a weekly container route called the Chesapeake Bay Express that calls at JAXPORT, with the first sailing due to reach Jacksonville in June 2026. The route runs from Vietnam and China through Busan and Kobe, then through the Panama Canal to Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, and Jacksonville. SSA Marine handles stevedoring at the modernized container terminal on Blount Island. A new weekly container call lines up with transportation and logistics filings rising 13 to 45 this week. The added cargo creates a bigger pool of prospects for freight brokers, trucking and drayage operators, warehousing and 3PL firms, and the customs brokers, accounting, and IT services those importers need. Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT), 2026-04-08
• Southeast Toyota Distributors is finishing a new 340,000 square foot auto processing facility at JAXPORT's Blount Island Marine Terminal, expected to be done by the end of summer 2026. The $145 million public-private project pulls together operations from a 50 acre Talleyrand site and a nearby 23 acre site into one 88 acre property, adds an on-site paint and body shop, and triples rail capacity. This 88 acre build coincides with construction and trades filings up 5 to 64 and transportation up 13 to 45. The work feeds site contractors and finish trades now, then rail and freight logistics, equipment suppliers, commercial cleaning, and the staffing firms that fill processing and paint shop jobs. Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT), 2026-04-15
• Construction of a new vehicle berth, Berth 21, at JAXPORT's Blount Island Marine Terminal reached the halfway point as of June 1, 2026, with completion expected in early 2027. It will be Blount Island's third dedicated vehicle berth and is part of a $60 million investment, funded 75% by the Florida Department of Transportation and 25% by JAXPORT. In 2025 the port's auto processors moved more than 506,000 vehicles. A third vehicle berth backs the same logistics demand showing up in filings. Marine construction crews, dredging and site work firms, and equipment suppliers get work now, and once it opens the extra auto capacity means more demand for freight haulers, vehicle processors, and the maintenance and security vendors that serve them. Nassau County Chamber of Commerce, 2026-06-09
• The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners approved Ordinance 2026-044 on June 8, 2026, putting a temporary pause of up to 12 months on accepting, reviewing, or approving permits, development orders, rezonings, or site plans tied to data center development in unincorporated Nassau County. The county cites Florida Senate Bill 484, signed May 7, 2026, which keeps local authority to set reasonable data center rules but does not let local governments ban them. The pause changes the rules for anyone planning data center work in unincorporated Nassau, where filings fell hardest this week, down 21 to 24. Site developers, electrical contractors, and land use consultants should expect data center projects there to wait, while the review itself opens short term work for the engineering, environmental, and legal advisers helping shape the new rules. Nassau County Government, 2026-06-08
• Nassau County set up a Fact-Finding Committee on data center development on May 20, 2026, made up of county staff in planning, engineering, environmental sciences, land development, finance, and economic development. A series of public workshops ran from June 1 through June 30, 2026, with meetings in Yulee and in Callahan to gather input on water, power, land use, and economic impacts. This review process coincides with professional services leading the gainers at 83 filings, up 23. Engineering, environmental, water and power, and land use consultants, plus legal and economic advisers, have a clear opening to take part in the workshops and the rulemaking that follows. Nassau County Chamber of Commerce, 2026-05-27
• A small-scale land use amendment filed May 20, 2026 with the Jacksonville Planning Department would change 2.28 acres at 6670 Barth Road, between New Kings Road and Moncrief Dinsmore Road, from Low Density Residential to Light Industrial and Business Park. The City Council's first public hearing is set for June 23, 2026. Converting nearly two and a half acres to light industrial and business park use sits in Duval, where most of the region's filings are. It opens work for site contractors and builders. Then it brings the small industrial or warehouse tenants that move in, plus the accounting, insurance, and IT firms they hire. City of Jacksonville Planning Department, Public Notice L-6118-26C, 2026-05-20

Filings cooled this week, but at 643 they sit close to a year ago, so demand for services that new businesses buy is roughly where it was. The clearest openings are at the port and in logistics. Transportation and logistics filings rose 13 to 45 just as a new weekly container service and the Toyota processing build land on Blount Island. That gives freight brokers, truckers, warehousing and 3PL firms, and the accounting, insurance, and IT vendors those tenants need a bigger prospect pool. Professional services led the gainers, up 23 to 83, in step with the engineering, environmental, and legal work the port projects and Nassau's data center review will require. Anchor your prospecting in Duval, which still holds most of the activity, and keep an eye on Green Cove Springs, where filings jumped.

We count new business formations recorded with the State of Florida for the seven First Coast counties: Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns. Counts cover the week of June 4 to 10, 2026, and are compared with the prior week, the same week last year, and a 13 week average. We wait about two weeks after a week ends for the state to finish recording all of its filings, so the counts here are complete and accurate. Industry groups are sorted into plain-language categories. A share of this week's filings carry no clear category and are left out of the industry list but kept in the totals.

Frequently asked questions

Did business formation really drop this week?

Yes. The seven counties recorded 643 new filings, down 144 from 787 the week before, an 18.3% fall. Most of that drop was in Duval County, which fell 73 to 406.

Is this week weak compared to last year?

Not really. The same week in 2025 had 654 filings, so this week is only 11 lower, a 1.7% dip. The longer trend is easing slowly, with the 13 week average at 743.

Which kinds of business are growing right now?

Professional services rose 23 to 83 and now leads by count. Transportation and logistics rose 13 to 45, retail rose 8 to 45, property holding grew to 89, and construction and trades added 5 to 64.

Where should a vendor focus first?

Duval County, which holds 406 of the 643 filings. Green Cove Springs and Saint Augustine both grew against the regional slide and are worth watching for less crowded markets.