Lake Erie to the Industrial and Commercial

¶ … Lake Erie to the industrial and commercial markets of Northern Ohio, the state of Ohio, and the entire United States.

BACKGROUND ON LAKE ERIE

Lake Erie forms the northern boundary to the state of Ohio, separating the state from Canada. It is the fourth largest of the Great Lakes, and the 12th largest freshwater lake in the world. It provides significant drinking water to the surrounding cities and towns, and is used for recreation and fishing (Hansen). It also provides large quantities of hydroelectric power throughout the region.

The dedication of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 opened Ohio's Lake Erie ports to ships of all flags. Prior to construction of the Seaway, only very small "canalers" could come to the Lakes from the Atlantic, so overseas trade via the Lakes was insignificant. Today, the salt water trade to and from Ohio is an important segment of Great Lakes shipping - 1.7 million tons" (Martel and Schultheiss). As we will see, Lake Erie is also extremely significant to the business community.

LAKE ERIE'S SIGNIFICANCE TO Business AND INDUSTRY

Lake Erie supports all types of business and industry via her shipping routes, and her natural resources. The lake contains large amounts of sand and gravel, which construction companies use for a variety of products. The building industry uses them for cement, paving, laying stone and brick, and in many other areas. Much of this sand and gravel comes from yearly dredging which is necessary to keep the ports in Ohio open.

There are eight ports located on Lake Erie in Northern Ohio. The ease of transportation on and around Lake Erie contributes to industrial growth in communities all around the lake. Oregon, Ohio has created a free trade zone in the Lucas-County Port. "The site of the first Great Lakes foreign trade zone, the Port is the number one grain exporter on the Great Lakes and is Oregon's key to the seas of the world. Sun and BP Oil refining companies cover over one square mile, employ over a thousand full time employees and together, process over a quarter million barrels of oil every day" (Editors). Free trade allows industry to do business without trade tariffs associated with non-free trade zones, and encourages business to locate to the area. Free trade zones are usually located at hubs of transportation, and Lake Erie is the backbone of this hub, which includes highways for truck travel, railroads, and shipping on the lake itself.

Shipping is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Lake Erie. Shipping travels from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario through the Welland Canal. Because the New York State Canal Barge System joins Lake Erie with the Hudson River, shipping can go all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, and then anywhere in the world. The Welland Canal is important because it allows ships to bypass Niagara Falls (Colman).

Shipping is so important to the state of Ohio that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency developed a multi-year plan called "Ship Ohio" to improve Lake Erie ports, and incite more business' to ship their products on the lake. The project is slated for completion in 2002. Included in the redevelopment of the Ohio ports on the lake was also significant redevelopment and redesign of highways leading in and out of the Lake Erie area. These highways support the delivery of materials for shipment on the lake. They were redesigned to carry heavier loads, and streamline traffic around the lake (Green).

A special type of ship carries cargo around the lakes. Neil Schultheiss says on his web site, "To handle Great Lakes cargo, a special type of vessel has evolved...the North American 'laker,' the largest being 1,013 feet (335 meters) long, capable of carrying up to 70,000 tons (70,966 tonnes) of iron ore or 1,700,00 bushels (45,552.5 tonnes) of grain in one trip." Thus, the shipping on Lake Erie has also evolved into a specialized industry, requiring shipyards, ship maintenance, and manpower to load, unload, man, and create the ships that are used around the lake. One of the largest maritime support ports on the lake is Cleveland, where many of the ships go for maintenance, and where many of the maritime union and support organizations are located. (Martel and Schultheiss).

The steel industry in Ohio is extremely important to the state, and the northern area of the state, which is located near (via shipping on the lake, and the Erie canal) the giant steel capital of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "Ohio is the second-largest steel-producing state in the nation. More than a dozen companies make steel in the Buckeye State. It follows then that iron ore leads the list of cargos delivered to Lake Erie ports. In recent years, U.S.- and Canadian-Flag lakers have annually delivered more than 18 million tons to the state...Steel's contributions to Ohio's economy are manifold. The mills have a workforce of roughly 30,000 and an annual payroll of $1.4 billion. Each job in the steel industry generates three more in supply industries, so nearly 125,000 Ohioans owe their livelihood to steel." In contrast, most of the raw materials needed to make steel also come to the manufacturers via shipping on the lake (Martel and Schultheiss).

Many other products ship out daily over Lake Erie. They include coal, stone products, salt, cement, sand, grain, and petroleum products. In any given year, about 18 million tons of the 35 million shipped throughout the lakes will ship from ports in Ohio (Martel and Schultheiss).

CONCLUSION

Without Lake Erie, the Ohio business and industry economy would be far different. The lake supports shipping options that would not be available if Ohio were landlocked. Industries would have located to areas where long-range shipping was more viable, perhaps on the Atlantic coast. Lake Erie also adds to the recreation industry as a tourist attraction, but even more so because local residents use the lake for recreation throughout the year. This creates business for industries as diverse as pleasure boat dealers to fishing suppliers and food vendors.