Tampa is one of Florida's leading manufacturing centers, and the urban area specializes in the production of communications equipment, electronic components, processed food, and construction materials. Since 1980 metropolitan Tampa has also become the foremost banking, commercial, and service center in the western part of the Florida peninsula. Large new office complexes have been built near Brandon along interstates 75 and 4 in the eastern suburbs and at Westshore adjacent to Tampa International Airport in the west; downtown Tampa also has added to its office space in recent years. Located at the tip of the peninsula into Tampa Bay is MacDill Air Force Base, home to the United States Central Command, which is responsible for directing U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
The Port of Tampa is the country's deepwater port closest to the Panama Canal and is among the nation's busiest; products passing through the port include petroleum, ammonia, phosphate, scrap metal, and chemicals. The port also is home to a shrimp fleet and serves as a stop for cruise ships.
