Importers who have cargo that just won’t fit into a warehouse now have a new option in Jacksonville.
North Florida Warehouse FTZ, a division of JZ Expedited Companies, held a ribbon-cutting Tuesday for the 3.7-acre facility at 9601 N. Main St. near JaxPort in North Jacksonville.
The facility is Foreign Trade Zone No. 64’s first outdoor storage facility.
A foreign trade zone is a secured site within the U.S., but technically considered outside of U.S. Customs’ jurisdiction, allowing shippers to streamline clearance and save money.
“This facility is one of a kind in the Southeast” said Robert Fox, CEO of JZ Expedited Companies. “This gives JAXPORT solutions that Savannah, Charleston, Port Everglades, Miami … They can’t complete with us. We have something that they don’t have.”
FTZs allow importers to save money on duties and taxes through deferral, reduction and sometimes even elimination, said Lisa Diaz, JaxPort manager of FTZ and Logistics Services.
“What makes this lot unique is that there really are no limitations on what can be stored here,” Diaz said.
She said importers “no longer have to go to a bricI k-and-mortar warehouse and be limited by the 8-foot-high dock door.
“This lot offers a lot of flexibility,” she said.
The facility offers storage options for cargo including vehicles, high and heavy cargo, tracked units, containers and more.
With approval, customer can access and alter their cargo, steps that also can save money.
Fox said APR Energy was the first tenant for the facility when it received four turbines from Australia in January.
He said the company is expected to use the facility again in March, when generators it deployed to Puerto Rico, which still is recovering from Hurricane Maria, are returned.
“Puerto Rico is a big market for us,” Fox said.