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The Portland Harbor is an economic engine that has existed as a source of jobs and vitality for the Portland metropolitan area for more than a century. With employment in the harbor projected to grow by 5,800 jobs by 2015, the Portland Harbor remains an economic driver for the region. Businesses locate in the harbor because of the connections to two major highways, two major railroads and a river transportation system. The utilization of all of these modes of transportation allows harbor businesses to reduce their costs and employ thousands of Portland area residents, many with family-wage jobs.

• One out of every nine jobs in the Portland/Vancouver area is located in or supported by the work done in the Portland Harbor Industrial District.
• The 50 industrial marine businesses with direct access to the harbor support approximately 20,000 local, family-wage jobs, bringing almost $1 billion in personal income to the region's economy annually.
• The average income of these jobs is $45,000 - higher than Portland's average household income of $41,000.
• The diversity of jobs allows for various levels of skills and/or education levels, providing job opportunities for many people.
  Sources: Martin Associates Economic Impact Study, 2006; Port Dispatch, July 2006; “Heavy Metal,” Portland Monthly, January 2008

What’s the volume of trade in the Portland Harbor?

2009 Imports

• 240,000 autos (each car generates $310 in local economic stimulus)
• 250,000 tons steel slab (feeds the furnaces at Oregon Steel)
• 2.1 billion gallons petroleum products
• 45,000 incoming containers (Fred Meyer is our largest importer)

2009 Exports

• 11.9 million tons of cargo
• 6.3 million tons of grain (Oregon feeds the world!)
• 2.4 million tons of soda ash (used in glass production)
• 1.1 million tons of potash (fertilizer necessary for worldwide food production)
• 56,000 outgoing containers