Second only to New York on the U.S. east coast in the handling of general cargo, the Port of Hampton Roads is directly linked to American markets by the interstate highway system – specifically Interstate 64, an almost 800-mile multi-lane artery into the heart of the country. Easy access to cities north and south of Hampton Roads is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and by Interstates 95 and 85, which connect major east coast markets.

The Port handles approximately 40 million tons of cargo every year.

A favored location for international companies, the Hampton Roads area houses operations for such worldwide giants as BASF (a German company), Volvo-Penta (Swedish), Stihl (German), Sumitomo Machinery (Japanese), Panasonic (Japanese) and Ferguson Enterprises (British). In all, 182 international firms representing 25 countries are in the region. The Port provides service to 250 international destinations.

As a component of the Port of Hampton Roads, Peck Marine Terminal is part of a seaport that is called on by 95 percent of the world’s shipping lines. Leading shippers that call on Hampton Roads include Maersk, Zim American-Israeli Shipping, and Nedlloyd. (Norfolk is the headquarters of Zim.)

Two-thirds of the American population is within a 750-mile (two-day) truck drive.

Described as “an economic engine for the state,” the Port of Virginia (which also includes an inland truck-and-rail facility at Front Royal, in the Shenandoah Valley, 220 miles to the northwest) employs 104,000 workers. Peck Marine Terminal is in the City of Chesapeake, just south of the city of Norfolk and across the Elizabeth River’s southern branch from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

All services required by shipping lines – from repair and equipping to brokerage and insurance – are available in Hampton Roads.

The region is the headquarters of Fortune 500 transportation giant Norfolk Southern Corp. The total track length of NS and another major railway, CSX Corp., equals 43,000 miles, penetrating 23 states and the Canadian province of Ontario. Amtrak passenger service also is available, and Norfolk and Newport News/Williamsburg international airports provide more than 250 nonstop and direct flights to more than 26 airports, 17 of them international gateways.

With a population of 1.6 million people, the Hampton Roads region is fifth-largest in population in the southeastern U.S. – and second-largest between Washington and Atlanta. The unemployment rate hovers between 4 and 5 percent. Major technology centers include the federal government’s Jefferson Lab in Newport News and NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton. Major universities include The College of William and Mary and Hampton University.