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Why Cleveland, Ohio is Great for Freight!

April 29, 2016
5 min read
Less Than Truckload
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When one thinks of Cleveland, OH, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, world-class orchestra, or the now NBA champion, Cavaliers likely come to mind faster than freight. In fact, there’s a 99% chance that freight doesn’t come to mind at all. It’s understandable, but in the freight universe, Cleveland is a great place to be.

While other larger cities fare well in the freight world, Cleveland is regularly regarded as one of the best and will typically make the Top-10 lists of most logistical and transportation lists. In fact, The Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria metropolitan area was ranked the #1 city nationally based on information criteria important to logistics professionals in Logistics Today’s Site Selector, 2005. Here’s why:

  1. Rail Access

Cleveland has access to a national rail system including hubs for: Norfolk Southern, Amtrack, and Conrail.

    2. Water/Seaway Access

Located on Lake Erie, the Port of Cleveland provides maritime access throughout the Great Lakes, Canada, and has access to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence seaway. According to the Port of Cleveland,

“The Port handles a variety of cargoes including steel, wind turbine components and bulk products. Overall, Cleveland Harbor’s public and private terminals average 13 million tons of cargo annually.

Location is a key advantage:

  • Closest major U.S. port of call on the Great Lakes for ships transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway System.
  • Within an 8-hour drive of half of all U.S. households, businesses and manufacturing plants.”

    3. Air Cargo Access

Hopkins International Airport acts as the hub for several major airlines and includes freight shipping centers will all of the major carriers.

    4. Interstate Highway Access

Cleveland is connected to the rest of the world via 4 Interstate highways:

  • I-80
  • I-90
  • I-71
  • I-77

This makes Cleveland one of the most accessible cities in the U.S., and we can get to 80% of the U.S. population within one day.

Easy access to multiple modes of transportation is a necessity to any logistics business involved in shipping products across the country and beyond. Most cities have access to one or more modes, but few have access to all. Some cities, like Cleveland, are naturally better suited to the logistics industry because of their location in the world and therefore give them a better shipping advantage.

While not as densely populated as one of the major markets like New York or Chicago, Cleveland is still well-positioned to move freight quickly, efficiently, and in many cases, more inexpensively than many other markets across the U.S.

With over 50 years of logistics and freight moving experience, Amware is one of the most recognized and trusted logistics companies in Cleveland, Ohio. To find out how we can save you money on your shipping costs by leveraging our prime location, CONTACT US today or download your free trial of AMRATE, our industry leading freight quoting software platform.

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