Cuyahoga County News

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) making available more than $662 million in Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 funding for MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).The PIDP investment is intended to help modernize the nation’s ports and strengthen supply chains.“America’s ports play a central role in our supply chains,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With today’s announcement…

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced more than $703 million to fund 41 projects in 22 states and one territory that designed to help improve port facilities through the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. Following is the full list of FY 2022 Port Infrastructure Development Grant Awards:ALASKANorth Extension Stabilization Step 1 Project ($68,700,000), Anchorage, AlaskaThe Project will reconfigure and realign the shoreline within the “North Extension” (the area north of the existing general cargo terminals) at the Port of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska.

U.S. Great Lakes ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway have experienced a rise in cargo shipments to feed domestic construction and manufacturing activity and global export demand, according to the latest June figures.The Great Lakes-Seaway System serves a region that includes eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, and is seen as a marine highway that extends 2,300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, supporting more than 237,868 jobs and $35 billion in economic activity.If the region were a country…

Port of Cleveland President & CEO and newly elected Board Chairman of the American Association of Port Authorities William Friedman weighs in this month on the Port of Cleveland and its role in the all important Great Lakes trades.When the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) announced the election of Port of Cleveland President and CEO, William D. Friedman, to serve as chairman for the 2018-19 year, beginning this October, it was perhaps a conscious decision to tap someone who has a broad range of experience and skills in myriad ports, large and small. That’s Friedman in a nutshell. AAPA represents 140 of the leading maritime port authorities in this hemisphere. If you’ve seen one port; well, you’ve seen one port.

Friedman is Port of Cleveland's President & CEO. At its 2018 Spring Conference on March 20, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)—the unified and recognized voice of seaports in the Americas—elected William D. Friedman, president and chief executive officer for Northeast Ohio’s Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, to serve as the association’s chairman of the board for the 2018-19 activity year that begins in October. Mr. Friedman is slated to be installed as chairman for a one-year term on the final day of AAPA’s 2018 Annual Convention, set for Oct. 7-10, in Valparaiso, Chile. He will assume the AAPA chairmanship from Steve Cernak, chief executive and port director for Broward County, Fla.’s Port Everglades, who began his one-year term on Oct. 4, 2017.

Green Marine, an environmental certification program for the North American marine industry, elected Port of New Orleans Chief Operating Officer Brandy Christian to its Board of Directors during its annual conference last month. “Brandy Christian’s nomination shows a high-level of commitment to sustainability from the Port of New Orleans,” said Green Marine Executive Director David Bolduc. “We are pleased to have an administrator with her level of expertise sitting on our Board.

U.S. U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez traveled to Cleveland on Monday, June 6, to meet with Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish, Chairman Ronald Rasmus of The Great Lakes Towing Company and members of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Workforce Investment Board to discuss the crucial role that sector strategic partnerships play in equipping workers with the skills they need to compete in today’s labor market. “Sector strategies” are employer-driven partnerships of industry…

A coalition of U.S. Great Lakes ports, vessel operating companies and maritime trade associations today filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the U.S. Coast Guard’s 2016 increase in Great Lakes pilotage rates, the American Great Lakes Ports Association (AGLPA) announced. The complaint was filed by a coalition including the AGLPA, along with the Shipping Federation of Canada and the U.S. Great Lakes Shipping Association, as well as vessel operating companies Fednav International Ltd…

Because of demand, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority (CCPA) is doubling the frequency of its service between Port of Cleveland and the Port of Antwerp this year. A report in AP says, so far this shipping season, not only have the number of calls increased, but so has the amount of cargo. It has tripled since last year. It was a novel concept when the CCPA came up with the idea last year. Local businesses could have their products loaded on a ship in the Port of Cleveland and send them directly to Europe. It has been smooth sailing for the Cleveland-Europe Express (CEE). The CEE handles an assortment of containerized cargo including scrap metal, foodstuffs, retail goods, and even machinery.

Even with a blip due to ice coverage in late March and early April, U.S. ports along the Great Lakes-Seaway System are tracking ahead of tonnage moved in April 2014. In fact, most ports are seeing increases in multiple categories. “In 2015 we are excited to continue the momentum from 2014 when we finished the season with a 20 percent increase in overall tonnage,” said Paul Toth, President and CEO of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. “There has been a good mix of marine cargo traffic early on in 2015,” said Joe Cappel, Vice President of Business Development for the Port Authority.

The Board of Trustees for the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority today unanimously elected Chris Ronayne as new board chair. As President and CEO of University Circle, Inc., which oversees the growth and direction of one of Ohio’s fastest growing employment district, Ronayne has led planning, development, education, marketing, police, and other shared services for the district over a decade of sustained growth. “I'm truly looking forward to leveraging the economic power of the Port of Cleveland to create more jobs for Cleveland and Northeast Ohio,” said Ronayne.

The U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) has announced that eight U.S. ports in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System are receiving the prestigious Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award. The awards were given for registering increases in international cargo tonnage shipped through their ports during the 2014 navigation season compared to the previous year. The eight winners of the Pacesetter Award for 2014 are: the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority…

The board of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority voted today to accept an annual budget for 2015. The budget includes $20 million in capital investments to enhance maritime operations and sediment management. The port’s balance sheet also allows it to continue investing in its European liner service, Cleveland-Europe Express (CEE), which was launched in April. The port is expanding CEE service in 2015 to two sailings a month between Antwerp and Cleveland, as announced in September.

The Port of Cleveland’s Board of Directors voted today to provide up to $161 million to support the combined refinancing of four previous economic development projects, as well as approved the acceptance of a Homeland Security grant. Issuing up to $5 million in lease revenue bonds in support of the Euclid facilities of Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations Group, which is refinancing the outstanding balance of Port bonds issued in 2004. Issuing up to $16 million in tax-exempt senior housing bonds for Vista Prairie at Emerald Village…

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced the appointment of 10 new members to the Marine Transportation System National Advisory Council (MTSNAC). Established in 2010, MTSNAC is comprised of leaders from commercial transportation firms, trade associations, state and local public entities, labor organizations, academics, and environmental groups that advise the Secretary on policies to ensure that the U.S. Marine Transportation System is capable of responding to projected trade increases.

On the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the binational waterway we operate in partnership with Canada, the end of the calendar year also means the end of the navigation season. And 2013 was another busy year on the Seaway. In fact, activity at our Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation in Massena, NY, never slows down, even after the locks are closed. Because when the navigation season ends, the repair, maintenance, and upgrade work begins. And 2013 was no different as we continued our Asset Renewal Program.

The Cleveland-Europe Express Ocean Freight Service will be the only scheduled international container service on the Great Lakes when it kicks off in April 2014. “Currently, local manufacturers use East Coast ports to ship goods to Europe, incurring additional rail and truck costs along the way,” said Will Friedman, president & CEO of the Port of Cleveland. The service will be the fastest and greenest route between Europe and North America’s heartland, allowing regional companies to ship their goods up to four days faster than using water, rail, and truck routes via the U.S. East Coast ports.

Members of the American Great Lakes Ports Association (AGLPA) elected new leadership at their annual summer meeting held this year in Oswego, New York. The new president is William Friedman, President & CEO of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. Dean Haen, director of the Brown County Port & Solid Waste Department in Green Bay, will serve as vice president. The secretary-treasurer position will be held by Paul LaMarre, port director at the Port of Monroe (Michigan). The term of office is two years. Friedman became president and CEO of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority in June 2010. He has more than 25 years of experience in port management, real estate development, international supply chain and multimodal distribution.

Area companies can learn how to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of their global supply chain at a seminar on Foreign-Trade Zones on May 30 at Firestone Country Club in Akron. Hosted by the Northeast Ohio Trade and Economic Consortium (NEOTEC) and the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority in conjunction with the Greater Akron Chamber, the half-day seminar will bring together nationally renowned FTZ experts to discuss the program’s benefits and how it helps companies become more globally competitive. Presenters include Dan Griswold, president of the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ) in Washington, D.C.; Trey Boring, a NAFTZ board member and senior vice president of IMS Worldwide, Inc.

The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) announced that eight Great Lakes Seaway System ports are receiving the prestigious Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award for registering increases in international cargo tonnage shipped through their ports during the 2012 navigation season compared to the previous year. “The continued increases in the amount of cargo moving through U.S ports is another strong indicator of our growing economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. “In his first State of the Union address, President Obama called on us to double our exports by 2015, and our nation’s ports will play a large role in meeting that goal.

The Shipyard Expansion Project is a 4-PHASE project. PHASES I through III have now been completed with the installation of the Travelift at a total cost to date of US$11.345-million. Great Lakes Shipyard, a division of The Great Lakes Towing Company, operates a full-service shipyard with a 770-ton Travelift and a drydock in Cleveland which specializes in all types of marine construction and repairs for vessels, tugs, supply boats, ferries, barges, excursion vessels, dinner boats, research vessels, large yachts, and off-site topside work of every kind.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s Board of Directors voted unanimously today to place a levy renewal on the November countywide ballot. “The Port plays a unique and essential role in our region,” said Port Chair Marc Krantz “We are the only local government agency whose sole responsibility is to spur job creation and economic vitality in Cuyahoga County. Proceeds from the renewal of the Port Authority’s levy will be used to sustain and advance strategic initiatives that are essential to protecting and growing the nearly 18,000 jobs and $1.8 billion in annual economic activity that depend on Cleveland Harbor. Renewing the Port Authority levy will not increase taxes…

Standard & Poor has raised the long-term rating on the Cleveland- Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s development revenue bonds to ‘BBB+. The outlook is stable. In September, Standard & Poor’s upgraded the rating to BBB/Stable. The Port has since secured a new Letter of Credit (LOC) with FirstMerit Bank N.A., headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The characteristics of the new LOC were cited as the prime reason for the upgrade. Port bonds are issued through a program that has a pooled collateral system of reserves, with the most significant one being the LOC. “This action is welcome and will translate into lower costs for borrowers, making our program even more competitive,” said Will Friedman, the Port’s President and CEO.