Northeast Ohio News

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.

“The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System saw a steady flow of traditional cargoes during the month of October,” said Betty Sutton, Administrator of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. “Last month, shipments of aluminum, steel, generators, crane components, iron ore and containerized goods moved in the system. Thanks to a robust U.S and Canadian grain crop, agricultural products including corn, soy beans, wheat and sugar beet pellets made up the majority of the…

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…

Buoyed by increasing returns from its creation of the Cleveland-Europe Express (CEE) liner service, the Port of Cleveland continued to see record numbers in August, particularly in containerized cargo, the port announced. While numbers for containers were up 300 percent through June, traffic has continued to accelerate at an even greater pace since, according to the port. Compared to figures through August 2014, this year's increase now stands at 475 percent. The overall growth produced by the CEE is "quite exceptional and a breakthrough in St.

The Port of Cleveland informs it has been awarded by the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) for its international cargo growth. The Robert J. Lewis 2014 Pacesetter award, presented to the port by the SLSDC this morning at its monthly board meeting, recognizes growth in international cargo, generated by the port’s Cleveland Europe Express (CEE) liner service and its traditional line of non-containerized steel cargo. Operated by Dutch ship owner Spliethoff Group, the CEE provides the Great Lakes only scheduled maritime access to European markets.

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 Great Lakes Towing Company hosted a WIRE-Net networking event at Great Lakes Shipyard in order to celebrate manufacturing and innovation in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. More than 100 attendees gathered on the banks of the Cuyahoga River to connect with other manufacturing professionals, forge new relationships and continue to grow and strengthen the local manufacturing community. In addition to a cocktail reception, attendees received tours of the shipyard and detailed explanations of some of the new services/tools that Great Lakes Shipyard has added to their business offering.

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. The Port’s traditional maritime and development finance services are also seeing increased demand and are forecasted to have a record year.

The St. Lawrence Seaway reported that year-to-date total cargo shipments for the period March 22 to October 31 were 28 million metric tons, down 7% over the same period in 2012. With only two months left in the shipping season, U.S. ports are hustling to move as much cargo as possible. "The Seaway's principal commodities - iron ore, coal and grain - helped move the scales in the right direction for cargo tonnage handled on the Great Lakes-Seaway System," said Rebecca Spruill, Director of Trade Development at the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

A LEEDCo official has informed 'The News-Herald' that more than 3,000 people in Northeast Ohio so far have signed up to pledge to buy a portion of their future electricity needs from offshore wind power. LEEDCo has begun work on a five to nine turbine wind energy demonstration project in Lake Erie named "Icebreaker," which is slated to be completed in 2017. It would be the first freshwater offshore wind project in the nation. The Icebreaker project involves the installation of six 3-megawatt American-made Siemens wind turbines approximately 7 miles off the coast of downtown Cleveland in Lake Erie. Officials also have a 1,000 megawatt target in mind by 2020.

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…

WIRE-Net has selected The Great Lakes Towing Company and Great Lakes Shipyard as one of the four local manufacturing companies to receive this year’s Mission Builder Awards. WIRE-Net is a Cleveland, Ohio company whose mission is to strengthen manufacturing to create healthy communities and fuel economic growth by providing support for manufacturing improvement and human resource management, training and education. Winners have been chosen for investing in Northeast Ohio, through plant expansion, job creation, or new business growth.

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.

Continued demand for iron ore, coal, and general cargo for the industrial and manufacturing sectors lifted the tonnage numbers along the Great Lakes-Seaway System to the positive column. For the period March 22 to November 30, year-to-date total cargo shipments were 34.6 million metric tons, a rise of 2.67 percent over the same period in 2011. The St. Lawrence Seaway reported an 11 percent increase for total cargo shipments during the month of November – 5.1 million metric tons – compared to November 2011. “The nearly 3 percent rise in overall tonnage handled through the Seaway in 2012 is due in part to the proven formula of ‘steel in, grain out’ as steel imports rose 12 percent in November as compared to the same month last year, and combined Canadian-U.S.

The Northeast Ohio Trade & Economic Consortium (NEOTEC) and the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority are bringing to town a nationally renowned group of Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) experts for a half-day seminar on May 24, 2012, at Firestone Country Club in Akron. The seminar will provide attendees with a solid understanding of the benefits of the Foreign-Trade Zone program and how it can help their companies to be globally competitive. Topics to be addressed include FTZ basics, benefits of the program, the application and activation process, and compliance. Presenting at the seminar will be the president and board of directors of the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ) in Washington…

More growth expected as Port expands rail system in largest construction project in a decade. The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority reported that overall cargo tonnage increased 31 percent in 2011, largely the result of growth in steel, iron-ore and oversized “project” cargo handled by Port facilities. The Port handled 3.4 million tons of cargo last year – the highest volume since 2008. General cargo volume rose 16 percent as both steel and project cargo posted increases; while bulk cargo increased 33 percent, as more iron ore was handled by Port operations.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has received a capacity study identifying options for sustaining the Port's position as an engine for manufacturing jobs, while the City of Cleveland is opening up the lakefront for greater public access and economic development. The study's main finding was that as the Port vacates key docks and storage areas, then those maritime facilities would need replacement given any reasonable future business projection. The Port of Cleveland is a destination port, meaning it produces local jobs because 90 percent of the Port's cargo is produced or consumed within a 75-mile radius. For example, the Cleveland Cliffs iron ore brought here from Minnesota by Oglebay Norton is used for manufacturing steel at ISG.

Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's Stepped up Mission to Foster Job Creation and Economic Vitality. The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s Board of Directors approved a new Strategic Plan today focused on growing both the maritime and development finance businesses and tackling critical infrastructure projects on the Cuyahoga River – all with the mission of fostering job creation and economic vitality. “The Board and our community have demonstrated strong support…

Partnership Creates Regional Foreign-Trade Zone Advantage. The Northeast Ohio Trade & Economic Consortium (NEOTEC) has entered into an agreement with the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority for the administration of Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) 40. The Port Authority is grantee of FTZ 40, which includes 10 sites totaling more than 5,600 acres in Cuyahoga, Lorain and Ashtabula counties. NEOTEC, a nonprofit regional economic development organization located in Kent, is grantee of FTZ 181, with 27 sites in 8 counties throughout Northeast Ohio. The agreement brings the combined acreage of both zones to more than 11,000. In addition to streamlining zone administrative duties…

The US Coast Guard seeks applications for membership in the Area Maritime Security Committee (AMSC) Eastern Great Lakes, and five regional subcommittees: Northeast Ohio Region, Northwestern Pennsylvania Region, Western New York Region, Lake Ontario Region, and St. Lawrence Region. The AMSC assists the USCG Captain of the Port Buffalo in developing, reviewing, and updating the Area Maritime Security Plan. Applications should be submitted by February 7. 73 Fed. Reg. 1363 (HK Law).

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