Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis opened Florida’s ports to businesses that may want to redirect their cargo in reaction to the ongoing global supply chain crisis. 

“We have capacity at all of our ports…. If you’re going to sit off the coast for days on end, you might as well just bring it to Florida! We’ve got great logistics on the ground that can get it to market and we’re happy to be able to step up,” the Florida governor said on Tucker Carlson Tonight.  

The governor promised incentive packages for companies who take him up on the offer.

DeSantis also announced that some ships had already rerouted to the Sunshine State, and noted that the supply chain crisis is causing empty shelves, driving inflation, and creating shortages. 

John Catsimatidis, CEO of Gristedes Foods, a grocery chain in Manhattan, warned that the supply chain crisis is causing CEOs to raise prices and limit options in order to maximize profits and “stay ahead of the curve.” 

“They’re dropping all promotions. They’re dropping low moving items. If you have ten different types of muffins, they’re only going to sell the top three,” said Catsimatidis. 

The New York business mogul predicts inflation will continue to rise, with a 10 percent increase in food prices in the next 60 days. 

Catsimatidis noted that the scarcity of supplies is leading to increased prices and fewer options for customers. 

In a recent report, the U.S. Federal Reserve noted that the supply chain crisis has caused “significantly elevated prices.” 

“Reports of input cost increases were widespread across industry sectors, driven by product scarcity resulting from supply chain bottlenecks,” according to the Fed’s Beige Book.

Currently, $24 billion in cargo is floating outside California’s largest ports. According to a CNN report, Goldman Sachs warned its clients that it expects “backlogs and elevated shipping costs” to continue into at least the middle of 2022. 

If businesses were to take Gov. DeSantis up on his offer, it would reflect a continued trend of companies shifting from New York and California to Florida and record economic growth for the state.