September 4, 2026 Transportation & Warehousing new business activity in Florida

Florida registered 2,925 new transportation and warehousing businesses in the 30 days ending September 4, 2026, and 9,219 over the last 90 days. The count covers trucking and freight, rideshare and delivery, logistics and warehousing, moving, and passenger transportation. Southeast Florida carried 1,022 of the month's regional filings, more than any other region. The market those owners are joining kept moving through the summer, with new container services at Port Everglades, Port Canaveral and JAXPORT, a shipyard grant at Port Tampa Bay, and site work on a new cruise terminal there.

New transportation and warehousing businesses are forming fastest in Southeast Florida. Every new trucking company, freight broker, warehouse and delivery service draws on the same set of supporting businesses to open. They need commercial vehicle insurance, licensing and compliance help, bookkeeping, fuel and maintenance, warehouse space and racking, and phone and dispatch software. Those choices are made once, in the first months, and they tend to stay made.

Below: where new transportation and warehousing businesses are registering, region by region, over the last 30, 90 and 365 days. Then the developments each region is working through right now, with the businesses each one creates work for. After those, what the whole picture means and how the counting works. The licensing bodies and local resources sit at the bottom, in Transportation & Warehousing Resources.

New transportation and warehousing businesses by region, over the last 30, 90 and 365 days. Regions are ranked by the last year.

Another 4,041 new businesses in the last year did not list a county, so they are counted in the Florida total but not placed in a region.

• freight forwarders: MSC Empire Service begins direct Asia calls at Port Everglades, Port Canaveral adds international container service, ZIM and MSC add Jacksonville to Asia container service, SSA Marine expands Jacksonville container terminal capacity
• customs brokers: MSC Empire Service begins direct Asia calls at Port Everglades, Port Canaveral adds international container service, ZIM and MSC add Jacksonville to Asia container service
• drayage carriers: MSC Empire Service begins direct Asia calls at Port Everglades, ZIM and MSC add Jacksonville to Asia container service, SSA Marine expands Jacksonville container terminal capacity
• warehouse operators: MSC Empire Service begins direct Asia calls at Port Everglades, ZIM and MSC add Jacksonville to Asia container service, SSA Marine expands Jacksonville container terminal capacity
• distribution centers: Port Canaveral adds international container service
• ground transportation providers: Site work begins on Port Tampa Bay's new cruise terminal
• hospitality suppliers: Site work begins on Port Tampa Bay's new cruise terminal
• longshore workers: Site work begins on Port Tampa Bay's new cruise terminal
• marine contractors: Site work begins on Port Tampa Bay's new cruise terminal
• marine electricians: Federal grant funds Tampa Bay shipyard upgrades
• marine welders: Federal grant funds Tampa Bay shipyard upgrades
• ship repair yards: Federal grant funds Tampa Bay shipyard upgrades
• stevedores: SSA Marine expands Jacksonville container terminal capacity
• trucking companies: Port Canaveral adds international container service
• tugboat operators: Federal grant funds Tampa Bay shipyard upgrades

Dated developments with a primary source behind each one, and the businesses each one creates work for. Most of the developments below are port and freight moves, which is where this sector's public record concentrates. Three regions, Southwest Florida, North Central Florida and Northwest Florida, had no dated primary-source development inside the window this report covers, so they are not listed here.

• Southeast Florida· announced 2026-07-24

  MSC Empire Service begins direct Asia calls at Port Everglades

  The Mediterranean Shipping Company's Empire Service made its first call at Port Everglades on July 17, restoring a direct container service to Asia with calls in China, South Korea and Panama. The service brings vessels of up to about 8,800 TEU to the port.

  The new service adds direct Asia container capacity through a major South Florida gateway, giving shippers a faster route and more vessel space.

  Who this helps

  • freight forwarders
  • customs brokers
  • drayage carriers
  • warehouse operators

  More direct Asia container capacity through one of Florida's busiest ports.

  Source: Port Everglades

• Central Florida· announced 2026-07-27

  Port Canaveral adds international container service

  Port Canaveral announced a new twice monthly international container service connecting Central Florida with Mexico and the U.S. Northeast. The service runs through a partnership between Green Tide Logistics and Canaveral Cargo Terminal Operator GT USA.

  The new service gives Central Florida shippers a direct container option to Mexico and the Northeast, adding supply chain capacity to the region.

  Who this helps

  • freight forwarders
  • trucking companies
  • distribution centers
  • customs brokers

  A new international container option for Central Florida shippers.

  Source: Port Canaveral

• Northeast Florida· announced 2026-07-14

  ZIM and MSC add Jacksonville to Asia container service

  Ocean carriers ZIM Line and MSC added Jacksonville to their weekly ZCP-Amberjack Asia container service rotation, strengthening the port's connections to Asian gateways.

  The weekly service gives Northeast Florida shippers a direct weekly connection to Asia, expanding cargo options through Jacksonville.

  Who this helps

  • freight forwarders
  • drayage carriers
  • warehouse operators
  • customs brokers

  More Asia container options through Jacksonville.

  Source: JAXPORT

• Northeast Florida· reported 2026-08-18

  SSA Marine expands Jacksonville container terminal capacity

  After a more than $100 million modernization project, SSA Marine is expanding capacity and improving efficiency at its Jacksonville Container Terminal on Blount Island. The work lets the terminal handle more cargo and serve larger vessels.

  The expanded terminal can move more containers and handle larger ships, adding capacity for shippers and the businesses that move their freight.

  Who this helps

  • stevedores
  • drayage carriers
  • freight forwarders
  • warehouse operators

  More container capacity at a major Florida terminal.

  Source: JAXPORT

• Tampa Bay· announced 2026-08-17

  Federal grant funds Tampa Bay shipyard upgrades

  The U.S. Maritime Administration awarded a $1 million Small Shipyard Grant to Gulf Marine Repair Corp. in Tampa for training center equipment, wheel loaders and upgrades to three berths in its south slip.

  The grant funds equipment and berth upgrades that expand the shipyard's repair capacity, creating work for the marine trades that support it.

  Who this helps

  • ship repair yards
  • marine welders
  • marine electricians
  • tugboat operators

  More ship repair capacity in Tampa Bay.

  Source: Port Tampa Bay

• Tampa Bay· announced 2026-08-03

  Site work begins on Port Tampa Bay's new cruise terminal

  Port Tampa Bay began site preparation for its first new cruise terminal in more than 25 years. The terminal is expected to add more than 200 ship calls a year and support jobs, tourism and business across the region.

  The new terminal adds cruise capacity and the ground transportation, supply and service work that comes with more ship calls.

  Who this helps

  • longshore workers
  • marine contractors
  • ground transportation providers
  • hospitality suppliers

  New cruise terminal capacity in Tampa Bay.

  Source: Port Tampa Bay

• We count each business by the date it registered with the state, so this shows new business formation rather than the current number of companies.
• State records post about 2 weeks behind, so the most recent 30 day count is always the least complete figure on this page and it keeps rising as filings arrive. Read the 90 and 365 day columns for the trend.
• A filing is placed in a region by the county on its principal address. A filing whose county does not map to one of the seven regions is counted in the statewide total and shown separately rather than spread across the regions.
• Trucking and freight businesses license vehicles and drivers through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and interstate carriers register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
• Counts cover active Florida businesses and update daily.

Statewide license source: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Frequently asked questions

Where are the most new transportation and warehousing businesses forming in Florida?

Southeast Florida leads with 1,022 new filings over the last 30 days and 13,375 over the last year, followed by Central Florida at 538 and Tampa Bay at 522 over the last 30 days. The statewide total over the last year is 36,343. The table above ranks all seven regions over 30, 90 and 365 days.

What does it take to start a trucking or freight business in Florida?

A trucking company registers with the state and then licenses its vehicles and drivers through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Interstate carriers also register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. A new owner then buys commercial vehicle insurance, dispatch and compliance software, and bookkeeping help, which is what new owners shop for in their first months.

Is Florida's transportation and warehousing sector growing?

The sector is holding a steady, high-volume pace. Florida recorded 2,925 new formations in the 30 days ending September 4, 2026, against an average of 3,147 per 30 days across the prior 60 days. Over the last 90 days the state logged 9,219 formations, and over the past year 36,343.

What is driving the sector right now?

Port and freight activity. New container services at Port Everglades, Port Canaveral and JAXPORT, a shipyard grant at Port Tampa Bay, and site work on a new cruise terminal there all add cargo and vessel capacity that the region's trucking, warehousing and logistics businesses carry.

The standing bodies behind Florida transportation and warehousing businesses and the work they create, starting with the statewide licensing offices and associations, then the local port authority or economic development body for each region. This is the rulebook rather than the news, and it does not change month to month.