Toledo–Lucas County Port Authority
The Toledo–Lucas County Port Authority is a port authority financing and/or operating air, rail, trucking, and port facilities, as well as supporting and funding economic development activities in Lucas County, located in northwest Ohio and bordering on southeast Michigan. Mission. The Port Authority's mission is to: "assure that the Toledo area's water, air, rail, and surface transportation assets are developed and operated in a cohesive, coordinated and safe manner in order to provide maximum efficiencies and benefits to shippers, receivers, and passengers; to assure optimum business growth, technology development, investment, job retention  and improvement in quality of life." Transportation facilities. Airports. The Port Authority operates two airports. Toledo Express Airport is the region's commercial aviation hub, with large air cargo facilities as well as airline service. Toledo Executive Airport was the commercial aviation field until about 1955 and now serves air charter, air cargo, corporate aviation, and general aviation operations. Rail terminals. The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza serves up to 100,000 Amtrak rail passengers each year, making it Ohio's busiest passenger rail hub. In 1996, the Port Authority spent $8.5 million renovating the facility and it now  serves as an intermodal train and bus terminal with office space above. Additionally, five freight railroads (Ann Arbor Railroad, Canadian National Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway) move freight through the region. With several railyards loading petroleum products, automotive parts, completed automobiles, bulk and break-bulk cargo, and food products, Toledo ranks as one of the top five rail hubs in the U.S. Trucking terminals. 43% of U.S. industrial markets and 47% of Canadian industrial markets lie within 500 miles of Toledo. Due to its location and the development of the Interstate highway system , nearly 100 local freight carriers have facilities in Northwest Ohio. Port Authority facilities such as Toledo Express Airport and the Port of Toledo provide direct access to major highways including Interstate 75 and the Ohio Turnpike (Interstate 80/90), as well as U.S. 24 which provides direct access to Indianapolis via Fort Wayne, Indiana. Port of Toledo. The Port of Toledo is a large Great Lakes port located at the western end of Lake Erie. It provides intermodal access to rail and trucking resources, as well as Big Lucas and Little Lucas, two of the largest cranes of any port on  the Great Lakes. Economic development. Development financing. The Port Authority provides business financing to local development projects. According to the Port Authority, it has funded more than 225 economic development projects representing a total investment of more than $1.3 billion and resulting in the creation and retention of more than 13,000 jobs. It provides the following financing options: Revenue Bond Territory is not limited to the Port Authority taxing jurisdiction, but includes any county in the State of Ohio. Land development. The Port Authority acquires and disposes of real property to facilitate the growth and development of its transportation  assets. It also leases parcels it owns in order to promote economic development. The Port Authority also administers a Foreign Trade Zone, an area physically located in the United States, but considered outside the jurisdiction of U.S. Customs duties. Because of the zone's unique trade designation, goods can be stored, exhibited, repackaged, manipulated, manufactured, or mixed with other foreign/domestic merchandise within the zone — duty-free. Duty is paid only when goods are moved out of the FTZ into the United States.