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PORT MANATEE, Fla. — It may cost as much as $127 million over the next five years, and $500 million over the next 20 years, to build the facilities to keep up with growth at Port Manatee.

The primary users of Anchorage’s beleaguered port want city officials to delay the first major rehabilitation work at the port in years while port leaders continue to discover earthquake damage to critical infrastructure.

Most of the nation’s seaports reached the halfway point of 2019 reporting increased volume in 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) compared with a year ago, which was a banner year for moving cargo.

As America’s ports handle larger amounts of cargo from bigger container ships, the ports are in a building boom. But the cost of expanding could get more expensive if a Trump administration plan to impose 25% tariffs on ship-to-shore cranes manufactured only in China are implemented.

Many of the nation’s ports have reported record monthly and quarterly container volumes so far in 2019, but port executives are expressing concern that steeper tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by President Donald Trump could hurt the economy — and their facilities.

WASHINGTON — Ports, which incorporate various modes of transportation, can serve as testing grounds for public-private partnerships, according to experts gathered during Infrastructure Week.

As global warming creates shipping routes that can cut across the northern tip of the planet, a new port is being built on the fringe of the Arctic circle.

The bustling activity at America’s seaports added $5.4 trillion to the economy in 2018 by way of revenue to businesses, personal income and economic output by exporters and importers.

The nation’s biggest ports are off to a mixed start compared with 2018’s record year, showing slower 20-foot-equivalent container volume as the economy gradually slows and with U.S.-China trade talks set to resume shortly.

The nation’s major ports finished 2018 setting monthly and yearly container volume records, and industry experts said 2019 is off to a strong start. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said on Feb. 24 he is delaying the scheduled March 1 increase in the tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports.