Port sets sail for more international trade routes. (Port of Tampa, Florida)(Special Report: Downtown Tampa)

Port Sets Sail For More International Trade Routes

Executives of an Atlanta steel company recently discovered they could save money by shipping South American steel into the Port of Tampa, then trucking it to a factory some eight hours away.

That's the message the Tampa Port Authority wants to deliver to businesses in landlocked regions.

"The Tampa Port Authority is a catalyst for international trade," says Bill Stover, director of public relations for the port authority. "We do whatever it takes to get their product from point A to point B."

Before discovering the Tampa connection, the Atlanta factory shipped its products into the Port of Savannah, Stover explains.

"We got wind of that and started looking at our rates, at the costs of bringing it to Tampa and then using trucks to get it to Atlanta," he says.

The savings were enough to convince the Atlanta company to make the switch.

And, while Stover says the port authority does not typically recruit clients, it is ready to use its assets to attract business.

Under the …