Volumes Up for Cleveland’s New Liner Service

Cleveland Europe Express shows major increase in volume, while established maritime and development finance revenues also up substantially

The Port of Cleveland announced that its Cleveland-Europe Express, the dedicated monthly liner service that launched in April, had its best month to date in June. This start-up service doubled its revenues in June when compared to either April or May.

“The Port of Cleveland is booming and we are very encouraged by the performance of the new Cleveland-Europe Express service, which is still in its infancy,” said William D. Friedman, president and CEO. “The large increase in volume in June bodes well for the remainder of the year as we continue to offer companies and shippers throughout the interior U.S. a faster, more cost-effective and greener shipping alternative to Europe and the world.”

The Port’s traditional maritime and development finance services are also seeing increased demand and are forecasted to have a record year. Vessel calls at the Port of Cleveland are up 75% through June, another indicator that the Greater Cleveland economy continues to grow. Additionally, revenues from the Port’s financing business are forecasted to be at an all-time high. The Port has recently supported critical regional projects, such as The 9, the Flats East Bank Development and the world headquarters of American Greetings, helping to further fuel the momentum in the regional economy.

In addition to announcing the results of the liner service and forecasting the remainder of the year, the Board of Directors continued endorsing the strong deal flow behind the Port’s development finance operation by approving two transactions:

• The Board approved the issuance of up to $17 million in revenue bonds for OneCommunity, which provides Northeast Ohio hospitals, schools, government, public safety departments and businesses with high-speed internet and data center services. The bond issuance will allow OneCommunity to refinance existing debt, unlock federal grants and position the organization to continue expanding its fiber-optic network across the region.
• The Board also approved the issuance of $6.3 million in tax-exempt cultural facilities revenue refunding bonds for the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, a nonprofit corporation promoting an understanding of Jewish history, religion and culture, located in Beachwood, Ohio. The Maltz Museum is an architecturally significant, 24,000-square foot structure that is a fitting tribute to Cleveland's Jewish citizenry, past and present, as well as to the Maltz family.

portofcleveland.com