PALMETTO, Fla. — SeaPort Manatee is making waves, moving more cargo than ever before.
The 55-year-old port handled nearly 12 million tons of cargo in fiscal year 2025, which concluded at the end of September.
What You Need To Know
SeaPort Manatee handled 11.85 million tons of cargo in the 2025 fiscal year
This is an all-time record
Troy Layton, the Director of Operations and Maintenance at SeaPort Manatee, says there was new business this year that contributed to that record number
It starts with customers like Carlos Diaz, the COO of World Direct Shipping.
The international company uses four ports, but Seaport Manatee is its only American trade hub.
“We concentrate on the Mexico–U.S. trade,” Diaz said.
World Direct Shipping is one of SeaPort Manatee’s largest customers.
“From Mexico, we’re shipping a lot of produce, a lot of appliances. There’s a lot of different fertilizer, phosphates, different chemicals,” he said. “We also ship lava, rocks for gardening. There’s just a whole host of things. And then from the United States, we’re shipping a lot of paper products.”
As part of SeaPort Manatee’s 20-year vision plan, the facility will continue to expand its infrastructure to keep up with demand. (Spectrum News/Julia Hazel)
Troy Layton, the Director of Operations and Maintenance at SeaPort Manatee, says there are several products that helped the port reach that record cargo amount this year — including produce and construction materials, along with two other high-volume products.
“We’ve gotten a lot of new business recently with our bulk liquid and fuels — those have dramatically increased,” Layton said.
A planned expansion has officials thinking even bigger for next year.
As part of SeaPort Manatee’s 20-year vision plan, the facility will continue to expand its infrastructure to keep up with demand.
SeaPort Manatee handled 11,855,828 tons of cargo in the 2025 fiscal year. (Spectrum News/Julia Hazel)
“We’re looking to expand our container operations because we see that more cargo is moving toward containerization. So we’re going to build Phase Three of our container operation, and that’s another 16 acres to add to our tenants. We can bring in a higher volume of containers,” Layton said.
As SeaPort Manatee continues to expand and grow, businesses like World Direct Shipping are excited for the future.
Layton said they anticipate another increase in business when their container operation is complete. As they create more space, there will be more room for containers.