The port of Toledo is one of the great ports in the United States. Located some miles from the Coast of Oregon, it is near Yaquina River.
It was founded in 1910 when the state law was passed in the United States and the port authorities started. A number of activities used to go on in the port. Some of them still work to date. These include commercial moorages industrial space services and repairs of ship facilities. Other services and facilities include recreation these services are non-motorized paddle park, moorage for fun and recreation and launch facilities. These are mostly used by kayakers, canoeists and people who fancy watching different birds. On the third weekend of August each year, the sponsors of the port host a wooden boat show that is loved by many people. The attendance is great and the attendants to the port are overwhelmed with work. In most times, a lot of outsourcing is done to help cater for the many people who visit the port for the event. Many things have happened to the port and its surroundings. One of the negative things that happened was the closure of the only ship yard that in November 2008. Private owners took charge of the place and abandoned it later on. It was in June 2010 when the private owners started developing the ship yard and chose to sell it back to the port. This was done with the main aim of capturing the once booming business of ship maintenance that was once going on at the ship yard. The business would be led and supervised by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration homeport in Newport as discussed by Anonymous, (2009).
Transport through water is one of the most challenging modes of transport that the world has ever had. This is because of the low speed associated with vessels and ships in the port of Toledo. It also gets risky at times when a vessel is overloaded. There are times when the vessels sink, lives lost and many people injured in the process of transportation of bulky goods through the Toledo port. The main job that is done by the great lakes sea way system is transportation of goods and raw materials for manufacturing and production as discussed by Anonymous, (2009). This is done between the ports in the United States, Canada and North America from many places overseas. The supervising body transports through charter basis that are booked prior to the real transportation. There is a challenge at the Toledo port because there is no charter that caters for the transportation of the bulk, break bulk and project cargo that is transported in large quantities at a go. The ports authorities lack a scheduled liner service. The service would go a long way in containerizing freight and cargo. The biggest challenge arises because of the fact that shippers are not allowed to use the system and its services if they do not provide enough freight to serve as a justification to the charter. The expensive charter needs to be guaranteed and shippers are denied the system if they lack such a guarantee.
One of the facts that the managers and supervisors of the port do not understand that it is expensive to afford a charter. Anonymous (2009) notes that there is tonnage or value that cargo should have in order for the vessel line, most especially a ship, to be allowed to go ahead. There is a line required to contact a port at the great lakes which is in most times not available or efficient for that matter. This is because of the expenses incurred in making a single call as well as the poor network and communication barriers like language, attenuation and distance. There is another challenge when it comes to determining the best and appropriate mass that that should go through the system in the liner service. It is challenging because in most cases, rates are not fixed according to Anonymous (2009). Supply and demand affect these rates making it difficult to calculate the mass required by the system at one given time. When the price of fuel changes, it takes effect as well to the charter rates in that an increase in price of fuel leads to a higher charter rate. This inconveniences shippers and other customers of the service. Simply said, it is difficult to determine the best mass needed for the support of a single scheduled liner service. Competition affects performance of the Toledo port because they also affect forces of demand and supply.
Privately owned ports in Ohio and Mississippi are the main competitors of the port of Toledo. Just like the latter, these competitors are responsible for handling cargo, repair and maintenance of facilities in the ports. The Jones act affects the rights of workers and sailors about the use of foreign ships and other vessels for domestic markets and trade. To modernize and add capacity for new routes, private vessels can be used. Private investors should as well be allowed a chance to invest in these systems.