Locating in Erie County Ohio provides economic advantages as well as offering superior business, educational, residential, and recreational opportunities. The State of Ohio is a major transportation center with the fourth largest interstate highway system and the fourth highest total of rail traffic in the nation.

Interstate Highway System

Strategically located in north central Ohio between Cleveland and Toledo on Lake Erie’s southern shore, Erie County Ohio is within a 75 mile radius of a population and market of 4 million people.

Two of the country’s most traveled interstates pass directly through Erie County: I-80 which runs east and west from New York City to Los Angeles and I-90 which runs east and west from Boston to Seattle.  And, I-75, the busiest U.S. interstate, which runs north and south from Michigan to Florida, is only 30 minutes west of Erie County. 54% of the nation’s population and 53% of the country’s manufacturing plants are within 600 miles -- a one-day drive -- from the County.

Direct Rail Access

The State of Ohio is a major transportation center with the fourth highest total of rail traffic in the nation. Erie County offers mainline access to the Norfolk & Southern railway corridor between New York and Chicago, one of the busiest in the U.S. CSX service can be accessed in Toledo, 60 miles west of Erie County, or in Cleveland, 55 miles east.

Air Service

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, 50 miles to the east of Erie County, is within an hour's flight of half the U.S. population and two-thirds of the country's top business and leisure destinations. CLE is a hub for Continental Airlines.

Ocean and Great Lakes Access

Erie County businesses have access to the Great Lakes shipping lanes with our own port of Sandusky as well as two other commercial ports in Cleveland and Toledo where ships dock from all over the world. Through the St. Lawrence Seaway, Erie County businesses can ship goods to both eastern and western hemisphere ports.

The Seaway – The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System is a deep draft waterway extending 3,700 km (2,340 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean to the head of the Great Lakes, in the heart of North America. The St. Lawrence Seaway portion of the System extends from Montreal to mid-Lake Erie. Ranked as one of the outstanding engineering feats of the twentieth century, the St. Lawrence Seaway includes 13 Canadian and 2 U.S. locks.

Commercial Shipping – Comprised of the St. Lawrence River, St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes, Hwy H2O is a 3,700-kilometer (2,300 mile) marine highway that runs between Canada and the United States. Hwy H2O flows directly into our commercial, industrial, and agricultural heartland, home to some 100 million people, roughly one quarter of the Canada/U.S. combined population.

Recreational Boating – During the shipping season, more than 2,000 pleasure craft of all kinds pass through the Seaway. Pleasure craft are welcome, but they must be at least 6 M (20 ft.) in length and weigh over 900 kg (one ton). There are special docks and tie-up areas along the seaway for pleasure boaters, equipped with telephones, and Seaway staff will help with the tie-up in the lock chambers.

Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Seaway (Highway H2O) Facts:

• Since 1959, more than 2.5 billion tons of cargo worth an estimated $375 billion has moved to and from Canada, the United States, and nearly fifty other nations.
• Almost 25% of Seaway traffic travels to and from overseas ports, especially in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
• Availability of a specialized laker fleet for maximum efficiency; many equipped with self-unloading devices for unloading at shore facilities (ship to land) or transshipping bulk cargo (ship to ship).
• Includes some of North America's largest ports, part of an excellent intermodal transportation network.
• Has maintained a near-perfect record of trouble-free navigation through ongoing improvements and meticulous maintenance for more than 50 years.
• Strategic geographical location: directly serves Ontario and Quebec to the north, and Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, and Pennsylvania to the south.
• Vessel maximum: 225.5 m (740 ft.) length; 23.7 m (78 ft.) beam; 8.08 m (26 ft., 6 in.) draft; 35.5 m (116.5 ft.) height above water.
• Channels maintained at 8.2 m (27 ft.) minimum over the chart datum.
• Distance from the Atlantic Ocean to Duluth, Minnesota on Lake Superior = 2,038 nautical miles (2,342 statute miles or 3,700 kilometers), 8.5 sailing days. Includes some 245,750 square kilometers (95,000 square miles) of navigable waters.
• Sailing time (normal conditions) between certain ports on the Great Lakes and the intersection of the Seaway ship channel and Montreal Harbor, using an average sailing time of 12 mph (10.4 knots)

Sailing Distances (PDF) 

* Welland Canal: 12 hours; Montreal / Lake Ontario: 5 hours.
Erie County’s location and transportation infrastructure help make our businesses successful and highly competitive in the world marketplace. You can make it here and ship it anywhere in the world.