New signs help tout Duval County

A metal sign installed Tuesday along Interstate 95 proclaims Jacksonville as "America's Logistics Center."

Private donations footed the bill for the signs, which will be placed along highways and other locations, such as the port and airport.

Jacksonville's port will take another step in May toward fulfilling the sign's ambitious title when a second ship calls each week at the new TraPac terminal.

The terminal, which opened in January at Dames Point, is one of the assets that officials point to when touting Jacksonville as transit point for the global shipment of goods.

The global recession has slowed maritime shipments and blunted the impact of TraPac's arrival in Jacksonville.

But Mitsui O.S.K. Lines - the parent company of TraPac - will add a second cargo ship each week to Jacksonville in May. In addition to handling imports and exports for Asian trade, the expansion will enable the TraPac terminal to be an exporter of goods to markets in Europe and Africa.

"It's still a good sign because we're one of the ports that's growing," said Roy Schleicher, senior director of trade development and global marketing for the Jacksonville Port Authority.

The service changes in May also will add more Asian cities to the shipping lanes that go through Jacksonville.

Mitsui spokesman Ed Huebbe said the company is in good shape to weather the downturn because it has a variety of customers and products.

"It's going to be a tough year," he said. "I don't think anybody can say otherwise."

The sign touting Jacksonville as America's Logistics Center has pictures of a cargo ship, airplane, freight train and delivery truck.

Those represent Jacksonville's advantages for moving goods because of the region's interstate highways, three railroad lines, seaports and airports, said Michael Breen, director of the international department at Cornerstone. Cornerstone is an economic development organization supported by the region's chambers of commerce.

"It's a combination of recognizing what we have, marketing it and the ability to build on our foundation for the future," he said at the Nassau-Duval county line where the sign was installed.

david.bauerlein@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4581