Port of Cleveland


The Port of Cleveland is a bulk freight and container shipping port at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the third-largest port in the Great Lakes and the fourth-largest Great Lakes port by annual tonnage. Over 23,000 jobs and $7.07 billion in annual economic activity are tied to the roughly 13 million tons of cargo that move through Cleveland Harbor each year.
The Port of Cleveland is the only container port on the Great Lakes, with bi-weekly service between Cleveland and Antwerp on a service called the Cleveland-Europe Express.
In October 2025, Jeff Epstein took over as CEO. Epstein was previously Cleveland's chief of integrated development.

Cargo

The Port of Cleveland handles the bulk of raw material shipments for regional manufacturing, as well as exporting some local resources.

Primary Cargoes

  • Inbound: Steel, heavy machinery, iron ore, limestone, liquid/dry bulk items, and shipping containers
  • Outbound: Steel, iron ore, limestone, cement, salt, power generators, wind turbines, capital equipment, and heavy machinery

    Overall Annual Tonnage

  • Generating $3.5 billion per year in trade.
  • Annual cargo handling averages between 11 million to 16 million tons
  • Dry Bulk : 12 million tons
  • Break Bulk : 500,000 tons
  • about 1,000 vessel visits,
Year
U.S.

Total
Tons
Domestic
Tons
Foreign
Total
Tons
Foreign
Imports
Tons
Foreign
Exports
Tons

20064415,186,81911,467,1313,719,6883,598,998120,690
20054713,640,96610,225,3603,415,6063,137,262278,344
20044415,774,61111,855,2823,919,3293,567,866351,463
20034712,620,7949,508,5423,112,2522,708,093404,159
20024811,411,7659,083,9652,327,8002,270,80057,000
20014811,937,8159,203,5872,734,2282,430,028304,200
20004414,390,80211,914,4372,476,3652,262,104214,261

Year
Dry Bulk
short Tons
Break Bulk
short Tons
20001,028,500949,552
1999934,306721,369
19981,239,5511,182,792
19971,521,7291,045,377
19961,809,0001,158,056
19951,531,985779,314
19941,899,989869,669
19932,069,184764,743
19922,700,842435,286
19912,852,675913,670
19903,038,535773,922

Connections

Rail

Connections to:

Class I railroads:
and several regional/short-line railroads:
Port has truck access to four major Interstate highways:
as well as local bypasses/connectors:
  • 20pxI-271, 20pxI-480, and 20pxI-490;
and Ohio State Routes, such as:
Eight international cargo berths and docks consist of of land alongside Lake Erie on the east side of the Cuyahoga River, while the Cleveland Bulk Terminal transshipment facility occupies just west of the river.

Geography

The Port of Cleveland spans across the Cleveland Harbor on Lake Erie and up the Cuyahoga River to the turning basin.
Name
USGS
GNIS
Feature
ID #
and
Link
Coordinates
Elevation
Cleveland Harbor
Cuyahoga River
Turning Basin

Maritime

Docks are maintained at a full Great Lakes seaway depth, which is.

Operators

Four terminal operators use port facilities:
  • Carmeuse NA
  • Essroc
  • Kenmore Construction
  • Fednav

    Cleveland Bulk Terminal

Cleveland Bulk Terminal, located at 5500 Whiskey Island Drive, on Whiskey Island, is port-owned but operated by Carmeuse NA which handles iron ore transfers. The lakefront facility can accommodate vessels used to discharge and reload rail cars. The automated CBT iron ore loader system on Whiskey Island on the west side of the Cuyahoga River loads materials onto boats from the terminal and transfers materials at a rate of 5,200 tons per hour. Limited handling of materials greatly improves the quality of pellets delivered to the mill.

The ore loader operation benefits three Cleveland companies:
  • Cleveland-Cliffs — supplier of iron ore pellets, uses iron ore pellets at its steel mills, and coke plants
  • Carmeuse NA — CBT operator and materials transporter

    Terminals

These facilities are:
  • Nine berths and docks in either open dock or two-berth facilities
  • Capacity for lifting up to 150 net tons
  • Direct rail access and warehousing ability
  • Over of linear dock space,
  • of warehouse space and
  • of open storage for general cargo operations.
Dock
Coordinates
Berth
Length
Warehouse
Storage
Facilities
Tenants
20dry bulk, outside storage, cementEssroc and Kenmore Construction
22Federal Marine Terminals, Inc.
2424:
A: 		24:
A: 		30-ton overhead cranesFederal Marine Terminals, Inc.
2626: Federal Marine Terminals, Inc.
28Buckeye Booster: heavy 150-ton capacity lift craneFederal Marine Terminals, Inc.
30Federal Marine Terminals, Inc.
32City of Cleveland, Ohio used for non-Maritime development including the new Lake Shore Electric Railway interurban museum.
CBTOutside storage:
Carmeuse NA
Totals

Foreign Trade Zones

-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, Grantee #40, operates-owns several General Purpose Zone Foreign Trade Zones in Cuyahoga County, Ashtabula County and Lorain County.

Port of Cleveland

Port of Cleveland complex located on Lake Erie at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River includes five general cargo facilities operated by port-approved stevedoring contractors.

Tow Path Valley Business Park

Tow Path Valley Business Park is located on both sides of the east and west bank of the Cuyahoga River bordered by Jennings Road on the south, Upper Campbell Road on the east, I-490/I-77/Dille Road on the north and West 14th Street to the west.