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Port Canaveral isn’t out of the car manufacturing partnership game just yet, according to port officials, even though earlier this month, it lost out on 100 new jobs and millions of dollars in economic impact when Volkswagen Group of America chose to locate a vehicle import complex at the Port of Jacksonville instead of Canaveral. Port CEO John Walsh currently is trying to woo seven other car manufacturers to occupy a future $85 million auto assembly facility by this year. That facility would put out 350,000 cars a year and could create thousands of jobs.

In other news, Orlando International Airport is hungry for distribution growth and may become a hub for rail after it completes its $1.1 billion expansion, which also has the potential to work with the port on shipping in and flying out cargo. Airport Executive Director Phil Brown sees freight cargo from around Central Florida as a huge opportunity for the region — especially since the airport is on 13,000 acres that can be used to facilitate distribution.