Florida, officially the Sunshine State, is known by many names, perhaps reflecting its many different characters, geographies and industries. Its unofficial nicknames include the Peninsula State as it juts out into Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other; the Alligator State, for the many reptilian residents of the Everglades; and the Orange State, because of its abundant citrus industry and orange groves.
The population, known for embracing an outdoor, water-centric lifestyle, are often portrayed as laid-back and relaxed due to the state’s warm, sunny climate, and they are recognised for being diverse due to the mix of southern, Caribbean and Latin influences. But the ‘Florida Man’ media trope aside, and the state’s reputation for eccentricity, and you find an industrious state that is working hard to develop opportunities for the future of its local businesses.
Florida may be justifiably seen as a retirement and tourism hub – it does have a large retiree population and its beaches make it a major destination for vacationers, not to mention Walt Disney World in Orlando – but it is so much more.
Investing in infrastructure
The crane and hoist industry is essential to fulfilling the state’s appetite for infrastructure development. All signs point to a significant growth opportunity in the next few years, as activity in Florida continues to be driven strongly by infrastructure expansion, the adoption of ‘smart’ lifting technology and by consolidation among major industry players, all of which are strong indicators of growth potential in the near future.
One key area for investment is port modernisation, which has seen significant expenditure on port cranes by The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT), Florida’s largest container port by volume and one of the nation’s leading vehicle-handling ports, which is significantly increasing its heavy-lift capacity; Port Tampa Bay, which ordered two new ship-to-shore cranes for delivery in 2026; and PortMiami, which is investing in cargo yard enhancements and densification, partly through its Electric Rubber- Tired Gantry (eRTGs) Crane Project.
For the overhead crane and hoist sector, the growing level of investment in manufacturing and logistics will have major implications for warehousing and other key developments. Florida’s manufacturing sector is showing signs of an uptick in investment, with aerospace, defence and automation providing the demand.
Furthermore, the expansion of warehousing and logistics hubs, not only in ports but in other key centres, could significantly boost demand for overhead cranes for material handling.
Among the key developments are Amazon’s new payload processing facility at Kennedy Space Center for Project Kuiper, the growth of Americas Gateway Logistics Center – a 6,700-acre multi-modal industrial park in Moore Haven, Glades County, Florida, designed to serve as an international logistics hub – and a major logistics expansion in Marion County are just a few examples.
The Amazon Kuiper Payload Processing Facility, for example, includes ten overhead bridge cranes, ranging from five to 60 tonnes in capacity, that are used for handling payload sections and fairings. At the Americas Gateway Logistics Center, rail-mounted or rubber-tired gantry cranes are used in container yards for stacking and manoeuvring.
The aerospace and defence sector has been a key source of work on Florida’s Space Coast for Equipment Fabricators (EFI), based in Cocoa, near the John F. Kennedy Space Center. The company is active designs and manufactures specialised overhead cranes for Boeing, Lockheed Martin and the US Navy. Known for custom heavy lifting equipment, including bridge cranes and specialised machinery, it has recently been providing critical support for Blue Origin.
In January this year, EFI completed the installation of a 100t, 128ft bridge crane for Blue Origin. The system was installed as a complete, high-capacity lifting solution with full bay coverage, and was created to provide support long-term operation with enhanced reliability.
The installed crane provides 40ft of lift and incorporates huge 75,000lbs boxed girders. Its purpose is to enable safe and precise handling of critical aerospace components.
This $1.8m turnkey crane system was engineered and executed to meet the client’s stringent performance and reliability requirements in an industry that sets the bar extremely high.
The system, fully engineered and fabricated by EFI for high-capacity, demanding duty cycles, was entirely built and assembled at EFI’s facility in Cocoa.
The company’s activity is not, however, limited to local operations in the state, or to just one industry. In late 2025, it delivered 30t, 38ft gantry cranes for the Tenkiller Dam in Oklahoma.
Designed and built at the Cocoa facility, the cranes will play an essential role in critical rehabilitation work at the dam, which will require high-precision handling of heavy components, structural assemblies and equipment required during extensive repair and refurbishment operations.
EFI also created a 60t bridge crane to the Coolidge Dam in Arizona in 2025, as part of a major project to remove and replace the dam’s internal cylinder gates. The system created for the dam, which is almost 100 years old, required delicate and precise engineering to ensure crane loads were distributed only to designated areas of the bridge, and avoided any overloading of the historic structure.
J Herbert is another major player in the Florida crane and hoist market. Based in Kissimmee, FL, it specialises in the manufacture and installation of industrial overhead cranes, and its most recent projects include the delivery of a 10t, 100ft span crane and 2t overhead cranes to a project in Orlando, and a 15t, 44ft monorail crane with a 24ft span for a tandem Harrington hoist.
Konecranes is a key provider of overhead crane maintenance, repairs and installations of jib cranes and hoist equipment for manufacturing and logistics facilities in the Tampa/St Petersburg and Orlando areas. From its base in Tampa, the company is a key player in major projects across central and southern Florida. RJ Mack Company, based in Jacksonville, is also busy installing heavy-duty bridge cranes up to 150t capacity for industrial manufacturing projects across north Florida.
Powering through the headwinds
With its long coastline facing the Atlantic Ocean, Florida is no stranger to stormy weather. Since 1850, all of Florida’s coastline has been impacted by at least one hurricane, according to the Florida Climate Center, which notes that the southeast coastline is extremely susceptible to a land-falling hurricane. Indeed, the state experiences more hurricanes overall than any other part of the US, with a total of 120 making landfall between 1851 to 2022.
Floridians are, therefore, built to withstand the heavy weather, and the same is true of the economic headwinds with which the state is struggling. The state – like many other parts of the US and many countries in Europe – is wrestling with a growing high cost of living crisis, skyrocketing property insurance premiums – which are in many cases triple the national average – and rents that are rising faster than wages.
For those not renting, the cost of buying a house is also rising, and housing affordability is a key concern among many residents. This is against the highly polarised political backdrop, where education, immigration, foreign and trade policy and social issues can be highly divisive.
The state leads the nation in foreclosure filings, with data from real estate market analysts at ATTOM suggesting the highest foreclosure rate in the US is driven by surging insurance costs, taxes and high, post-pandemic home prices.
Some sources report that despite having one of the strongest state economies in the US, some residents are facing ‘working homelessness’ due to long-term shortage of housing combined with financial challenges as costs of living rise faster than wages. At the same time the rapid population growth that has led to the shortfall in housing has also put more strain on local infrastructure.
Personal finance platform Wallethub recently released a report that suggests the state witnessed a 23% increase in the share of people with distressed bank accounts between 2024 and 2025, the data show. Furthermore, it claims that Florida ranks sixth in terms of the overall share of people with accounts in distress, at 7.3%.
Economic forecasts seem to differ almost as much as political views across a nation that is entrenched in an ideological battle for hearts and minds, but a report in late 2025 by Moody’s Analytics suggests that 22 states are facing downturns, particularly those reliant on agriculture or manufacturing, and that where there is growth it is fragile.
The much-debated tariffs that are being used as leverage in a global trade war are certainly pushing up prices in many industries, though there is disagreement over whether they are bringing manufacturing back to the US, but labour shortages and federal job cuts are also cited as factors exerting downward economic pressure.
Despite its problems, as of late 2025, Florida is among the states that is still setting growth despite the potential headwinds arising from national economic policy shifts. Indeed, over the past four years, Florida’s GDP growth has outpaced the US average by more than 2%.
“Florida continues to outperform the national economy and remains an attractive state for business investment,” says Sheridan Morby, senior research economist at the Florida Chamber Foundation, a non-profit research and education organisation affiliated with the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
The foundation focuses on securing Florida’s future through data-driven, long-term economic planning. It works with business leaders to create a more competitive, diverse economy, primarily through initiatives like the Six Pillars framework and the Florida 2030 Blueprint.
Overall, the Foundation acts as a non-partisan, proactive research arm aimed at fostering growth, expanding economic opportunity and promoting a business-friendly environment for the state.
The Six Pillars framework is a strategic plan focusing on talent supply and education, innovation and economic development, infrastructure and growth, business climate, civic and governance systems and quality of life.
Many of these pillars, notably talent supply and infrastructure, have a direct bearing on the crane and hoist sector.
So, too, does the Florida 2030 Blueprint, which is a long-term research initiative aimed at preparing for a projected population of 26 million and the need for over one million new jobs.
The Florida Prosperity Initiative is another of the foundation’s projects, and it aims to break the cycle of generational poverty by targeting root causes at the zip code level.
The foundation’s economic research programme produces data, such as The Florida Scorecard, to track progress on jobs, education and economic metrics; and its Talent Pipeline project works to bridge the skills gap by connecting education and business needs.
“If Florida were a country, it would rank as the 15th largest economy in the world,” adds Morby. “The state’s unemployment rate has remained below the national average since 2020 – currently 4.3% compared to 4.4% nationally.”
Morby also points out that although Florida’s labor market has experienced workforce shortages in recent years, it is beginning to rebalance. Currently, around 115 people are looking for work for every 100 open jobs, giving employers a larger pool of potential workers.
However, many businesses still face a skills mismatch, particularly in technical and skilled trades.
For example, the foundation’s data shows that there are currently more than 1,000 job postings state-wide for industrial machinery mechanics, but fewer than 50 completions in directly related programmes over the past year.
“Aligning education and workforce training with employer demand remains a big priority,” she adds. “Florida’s business-friendly environment continues to support key industries, including manufacturing, logistics, construction and infrastructure. The state ranks in the top five for business tax climate, is the second-best state for business according to some sources and leads the nation in new business start-ups and relocations.”
On top of that, population growth and in-migration have fueled Florida’s economic momentum in recent years. Though growth is expected to slow in 2026, it will likely remain positive.
Sustaining the state’s competitiveness will depend on expanding workforce opportunities, closing skills gaps and increasing access to affordable housing to attract and retain talent needed to support Florida’s diverse industries,” Morby remarks.
Mixed signals
Amidst this complex picture of a challenging economic backdrop but investment in port infrastructure and a local economy that is bucking the national trend, what is the outlook for the crane and hoist industry across the state? Globally, the industry is expected to continue growing from an estimated $24.8bn in 2025 to around $32bn by 2035, according to some sources, and its critical role in industrial and infrastructure development could no doubt push it to grow even faster. While bridge cranes are the largest revenue-generating type, gantry cranes are expected to see the fastest growth due to their flexibility in construction and port applications.
With port infrastructure projects so crucial to Florida’s infrastructure development in the next few years, local crane companies are likely to be busy, and the construction boom – particularly around Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville – is a powerful driver of demand for overhead lifting equipment, not only in residential development, but also many commercial and industrial projects.
Add in the growth in manufacturing and logistics, and there are many positive signs for the industry in Florida, particularly due to the willingness of investors to build out infrastructure in key sectors such as ports, logistics and manufacturing. The ability of the local economy to outperform the national trend is also a very good sign, though there are clear concerns about national economy trends and their potential effects.
The biggest concern of all is not whether the current political regime’s policies will be effective, but whether they will remain consistent. Industry thrives on predictability when it comes to the economic situation, and regardless of one’s political leanings, there is no doubt that uncertainty prevails in terms of policy and predictions of the future. Volatility can create opportunity, that much is true, but it does make investing for the future more of a risky enterprise.
There is little doubt, however, that Floridians will do whatever it takes to weather any storms that come – it is in their blood.
