Did you know that Canada is Ohio’s largest foreign export market?  276,500 Ohio jobs are supported by Canada – U.S. trade.  In 2007 Ohio exported $19.1 billion in merchandise to Canada while importing $15.4 billion.  The Port of Toledo trades grain, aluminum, pig iron, oats, steel, petcoke and other commodities with Canadian ports on a regular basis.  Many of the vessel lines that call on the Port of Toledo such as Canada Steamship Lines, Groupe Desgagnes, Canfornav, Fednav and McKeil Marine are headquartered in Canada.

In August 2008 the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, the University of Toledo, Midwest Terminals of Toledo International Inc. and Melford International Terminals Inc. agreed to enter into a Strategic Collaboration in support of the development of a marine container transshipment terminal and logistics park Atlantic Gateway initiative being carried out in the Strait of Canso, Nova Scotia by Melford International Terminal Inc.  The collaboration is intended to provide for a free and open dialog characterized by shared data, insights, and resources.

The goals of this collaboration are to:

1. Assist in relieving the anticipated capacity saturation occurring at North American, east coast maritime gateways and
2. Create a dependable, predictable, cost effective, efficient, safe, and environmentally responsible routing of international maritime cargo entering and exiting the North American marketplace.

The specific, immediate objectives this collaboration will seek to achieve are:

1. Perform a detailed market and logistics analysis to identify beneficial cargo owners within a targeted distribution catchments area located with 500 miles or a single day’s drayage of the Port of Toledo.  The scope of the market analysis would include the following:
1. Identify major importers, products and origins, current routing
2. Identify major exporters, products and destinations, current or proposed routing
3. Preference for shipping or receiving, ocean 40 or 20 or domestic 53
4. Approximate volume and seasonality factors
2. Conduct a comprehensive assessment of infrastructure improvement or refinement needs and the equipment & spatial needs required to assure cost effective, time sensitive handling of cargos at maritime and rail facilities associated with the Port of Toledo.
3. Exercise maximum effort and influence to facilitate the incorporation of Short Sea Shipping/Feeder services into the entire Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System and to the maximum extent possible unite the Great Lakes maritime industry in support of this service expansion initiative.

In September 2007 the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Port of Halifax.  The purpose of the agreement is to continue discussions to develop awareness and interest in the Port of Halifax and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System as a gateway to North America with the purpose of generating new business opportunities such as short sea shipping and feeder vessel operations.

Our marine terminals provide direct access for shipping bulk, break bulk, project cargo and containers to the center of North America via the Great Lakes / Saint Lawrence Seaway System.

The Port of Toledo has direct access to four railroads and two transcontinental highways.

Forty-three percent of the U.S. industrial market and forty-seven percent of the Canadian market are located within a one day drive (500 mile radius) of Toledo.