In Trend's Time: 55 years of Florida business history

The Mouse That Roared ...

Kingdom Come
» When Walt Disney World opened in 1971, it was more than 16 miles from the nearest urban development. Today, the nearest urban development is less than a mile away.

» In 1971, general admission for adults was $3.50. An “Adventure Book” sold separately for $4.50, contained tickets for seven attractions. Today, a one-day ticket to the Magic Kingdom for a Florida resident is $101.18, including tax.

Trade

Ports
» In 1960, Florida had seven deepwater ports. Today it has 15.

China Syndrome
» China has become Florida’s largest non-Latin trading partner, but like the U.S., the state imports more from China than it exports there, running a $7.2- billion trade deficit.

Shifting Balance
» In 2002, 54% of Florida’s international trade was imports and 46% was exports. That flipped by 2012, when 44% of trade was imports and 56% was exports. The value of Florida’s international trade grew from $73.2 billion in 2003 to $162 billion in 2012.

Ahoy!
» In 2003, 63.4% of Florida’s international trade came from waterborne goods. Thanks to increase airline cargo, the percentage of trade coming from waterborne goods had fallen to 54% in 2012.

Top Five Trading Partners in 2002:

Top Five Trading Partners in 2012:

Jet-Propelled
» Aircraft and spacecraft parts is one of Florida’s top five exports. Ten years ago it was one of our top five imports.

News

Read All about It!
» In 1958, circulation of the St. Petersburg Times was 93,566 daily and 97,403 on Sunday. Circulation topped 100,000 for the first time in 1959. Now called the Tampa Bay Times, the newspaper sells 340,260 copies daily and 402,422 on Sunday, making it the state’s largest newspaper. In 1960, the population of the Tampa Bay area — Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties — was 820,443. In 2010, it was 2.8 million.