Market Access
People are moving to North Carolina at twice the national average.
The reasons why are still being explored.
Market Access
North Carolina affords business and industry prime market
access to the eastern United States and Canada as well as points
across the country and around the world. The state’s central East
Coast location and excellent transportation network provide
businesses with unequalled proximity to major markets.
North Carolina’s location makes it an
optimal point for transporting and
receiving goods to and from all over
the world.
N.C. Market Access
2,000 mi
3,200 km
1,500 mi
2,400 km
1,000 mi
1,600 km
500 mi
800 km
300 mi
500 km
Market Access | 1
Market Access — Air
North Carolina is home to the sixth largest major airline hub in the nation, with
four major airports offering more than 1,000 daily departures and non-stop
service to over 100 domestic and international destinations. North Carolina is
one plane change away from virtually any major city in the world.
The state is also home to 11 regional and more than 100 general aviation
facilities. Equipped to accommodate the world’s largest cargo jets, North
Carolina’s airports have been recognized nationally for excellence in such
areas as on-time arrivals and departures, operations, passengers served and
Major Airlines
North Carolina is served by
a variety of major airlines,
including:
• Air Canada
• AirTran Airways
• Allegiant Air
cargo handled.
• American Airlines
• Continental Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• JetBlue Airways
• Lufthansa Airlines
• Midwest Airlines
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines
• U.S. Airways
N.C. International Airports
Greensboro –
Piedmont Triad
International
Raleigh/Durham
International
Charlotte/Douglas
International
International Airports
Wilmington
International
Market Access | 2
Market Access — Air
The state’s airports offer commercial and general aviation
services, including commercial aircraft maintenance and
full-service federal inspections, including U.S. Immigraion
and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Department of
Agriculture to clear international flights. Many of North
Carolina’s aviation facilities are expanding both the
services and destinations offered in a continuing effort to
improve passenger convenience, ample parking and the
latest amenities in air travel.
North Carolina’s transportation network offers companies
a seamless distribution infrastructure. A testament to the
state’s strong connectivity and ability to quickly transport
goods, FedEx chose North Carolina for its new midAtlantic hub, which opened in June 2009. North Carolina’s
cargo carriers and freight forwarders include:
• ABX
• BAX Global
• Emery Air Freight
• FedEx
• Mountain Air Cargo
• Quantem Aviation
• Ram Air Freight
• Tradewinds
• UPS
• U.S. Postal Service
• USA Jet Airliners
Nonstop Flight Destinations
Domestic
Atlanta, GA
Baltimore-Washington, DC
Biloxi/Gulfport, MS
Boston, MA
Charleston, SC
Chicago, IL (Midway,
O’Hare)
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH
Columbus, OH
Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
Daytona Beach, FL
Denver, CO
Detroit, MI
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Fort Walton Beach, FL
Greenville/Spartanburg, SC
Hartford, CT
Houston, TX
Indianapolis, IN
Las Vegas, NV
Memphis, TN
Miami, FL
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
Nashville, TN
New York, NY (JFK, LGA)
Newark, NJ
Norfolk, VA
Orlando, FL
Panama City, FL
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
Pittsburgh, PA
Portland, OR
Providence, RI
Sacramento, CA
Salt Lake City, UT
San Antonio, TX
San Francisco, CA
St. Louis, MO
Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL
Tucson, AZ
Washington, DC (Dulles,
Reagan National)
International
Aruba
Barbados
Belize
Cancun, Mexico
Cozumel, Mexico
Frankfurt, Germany
Freeport, Bahamas
Georgetown, Bahamas
Grand Cayman Islands
Liberia, Costa Rica
London, England
Mexico City, Mexico
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Montreal, Canada
Munich, Germany
Nassau, Bahamas
Paris, France
Providenciales, Turks &
Caicos
Punta Cana, Dominican
Republic
Rio de Janiero, Brazil
San Jose, Costa Rica
San Juan, Puerto Rico
St. Lucia
St. Maarten, Netherland
Antilles
St. Kitts
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin
Islands
Toronto, Canada
Market Access | 3
Market Access — Global Shipping and Logistics
With the volume of international trade expected to double by 2020, North
Carolina’s ports offer a competitive edge in access to global markets. Positioned
along the Atlantic shipping lines, cost-effective pricing and tax credits, abundant
capacity, accessibility across distribution channels, commitment to innovation
and service and a business-friendly environment make the state’s ports an
excellent choice.
Port Tax Credit
Businesses and individuals who pay North Carolina state income tax and use
N.C. state ports qualify for tax credits on inbound and outbound cargo. The
credit is earned on cargo wharfage and handling fees paid to the N.C. State
Ports Authority that exceed the average for those fees during three years. The
credit applies to taxes due to the state and can amount to up to 50 percent
of the total tax liability for each tax year. Any unused credit may be carried
forward for as long as five years for a total credit of up to $2 million.
Services Worldwide
N.C. state ports provide access
to many parts of the world
through numerous carriers:
Container Carrier Services
Central American Service
• Maersk Line
Asian Services
• Cosco Container Lines
America
• Hanjin Shipping Company
• “K” Line America
• United Arab Shipping
• Yang Ming Line
Middle Eastern Services
• National Shipping Company
of Saudi Arabia
Northern European Services
• Independent Container Line,
Ltd.
Bulk/Breakbulk Carrier Services
• PACC Line
• Star Shipping
• Spiethoff
• Gearbulk
• Saga Forest Carriers
N.C. Deep Water Ports and Intermodal Terminals
Piedmont Triad Inland Terminal
Charlotte
Inland Terminal
Port of Morehead City
N.C. Ports
Inland Terminals
Interstate
or Controlled
Interstate
Highways
Access Highways
Port of Wilmington
U.S.
Highways
U.S.
Highways
Market Access | 4
Market Access — Global Shipping and Logistics
N.C. Ports — At A Glance
Port of Wilmington
Located on the east bank of the Cape Fear River, the Port
of Wilmington is 26 miles from the open sea and offers
facilities to handle containerized, bulk and breakbulk
cargoes. The Port of Wilmington offers multiple sailings
per week to and from Asia, Europe, Central America and
the Caribbean. The port has 6,768 feet of continuous wharf
divided between container and general cargo operations.
There is an open storage dry bulk facility, which can outload
more than 800 tons per hour with a 70,000-ton storage
capacity. Wilmington is one of the few South Atlantic ports
with readily available berths and container storage areas
and equipment.
Container and General Cargo Operations
42 ft. Channel and Berth Depth
Direct access to I-40, I-74, I-95, U.S. 17 and
U.S. 74
Served by CSX
Port of Morehead City
The 45-foot channel at the Port of Morehead City makes it
one of the deepest ports on the East Coast. Situated along
the Newport River and Bogue Sound, the Port of Morehead
City is only four miles from the open sea and specializes in
breakbulk and bulk cargo. The port has nine berths, 5,500
feet of continuous wharf and a load-out rate of 3,000 tons
per hour of bulk cargo with the use of two berths. Its drybulk facility offers a 225,000-ton capacity warehouse,
conveyor system and shiploader, as well as an open-storage
dry bulk facility.
General Cargo and Bulk Handling Facility
45 ft. Channel, Berths from 38 ft. – 42 ft.
Depth
Access to I-95 and I-40 via U.S. 70 and U.S. 17
Served by Norfolk Southern
Inland Terminals
The Charlotte and Piedmont Triad inland terminals are strategically located at the heart of the manufacturing
and distribution sites in the Southeast, serving the I-40, I-73/74, I-77 and I-85 corridors. Professional, “neutral”
container yard operations are provided to carriers as well as staging for empty and loaded containers, with
grounding and mounting service.
Market Access | 5
Market Access — Rail Service
North Carolina, home to the largest consolidated rail system in the country,
can help you access these efficiencies. The rail system is supported by more
than 20 carriers, including CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern, as well
as several affiliated railroads and a wealth of independently-owned carriers.
More than 3,200 miles of track provide excellent freight railway service to
business and industry. North Carolina’s Class I carriers, Norfolk Southern and
CSX, serve more than 46,000 miles of track stretching throughout the South,
East, Midwest and Canada. With service to 22 states in the eastern half of the
country, the rail connections extending to the North Carolina coast enable
the state ports in Wilmington and Morehead City to offer import and export
services to a large market.
Rail Industrial Access Program
Because rail access is vital to many prospective industries, the N.C. Department of Transportation began the Rail Industrial
Access Program to provide an incentive to locate or expand their facilities in North Carolina. This funding helps ensure
that companies have the railroad tracks needed to transport freight and materials. The program uses state funds to
construct or refurbish tracks required by a new or expanding industry to encourage economic development. Funding for
the projects is contingent upon application approval prior to the industry making their decision to locate or expand their
facility in North Carolina and a private and/or local source providing matching funds.
Railroads can move a ton of freight
an average of 436 miles on a single
gallon of fuel.
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Market Access — Rail Service
N.C. Regional Freight Railroads
• Aberdeen & Rockfish Railway
• High Point, Thomasville & Denton Railroad
• Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway
• Laurinburg & Southern Railroad
• Alexander Railroad Company
• Nash County Railroad
• Atlantic & Western Railway
• North Carolina & Virginia Railroad
• Caldwell County Railroad
• North Carolina Railroad Company
• Carolina Coastal Railway
• Thermal Belt Railway
• Carolina Southern Railroad
• Wilmington Terminal Railroad
• Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad
• Winston-Salem Southbound Railway
• Great Smoky Mountain Railroad
• Yadkin Valley Railroad
North Carolina Rail Service
CSX Freight
Intermodal
Facility
Norfolk
Southern Corp
Norfolk
Southern Corp
Truck/Rail Intermodal Freight
Interstate or Controlled Access Highways
Rail Lines
Market Access | 7
Market Access — Highways
North Carolina has the second largest highway system in the nation, with more than 98,000 miles of highways.
The state has excellent access to some of the nation’s primary transportation arteries, including I-95, which
is the major East Coast interstate linking New England to Florida, and I-40, which spans the country coast-tocoast from North Carolina to California.
In addition, I-85 forms the backbone of the largest manufacturing region in the Southeast, reaching from
Richmond, VA to Montgomery, AL; and I-77 connects Cleveland, OH to Columbia, SC.
U.S. Interstates
• I-26
• I-40
• I-73
• I-74
• I-77
• I-85
• I-95
U.S. Interstates and Highways
Interstate
or Controlled
Interstate
Highways
Access Highways
U.S.
Highways
U.S.
Highways
Market Access | 8
Market Access — Highways
U.S. Interstates
Minneapolis
Detroit
Omaha
Colorado Springs
Las Vegas
Kansas City
St. Louis
Wichita
Los Angeles
San Diego
Pittsburgh
Phoenix
Raleigh
Tulsa
Oklahoma City
Albuquerque
New York
Philadelphia
Columbus
Indianapolis
Washington
Denver
Fresno
Newark
Cleveland
Chicago
Sacramento
San Francisco
San Jose
Boston
Buffalo
Milwaukee
Nashville
Charlotte
Memphis
Atlanta
Tucson
Dallas
Fort Worth
El Paso
Austin
Houston
San Antonio
New Orleans
Jacksonville
Tampa
Miami
North Carolina’s advantageous East
Coast location gives it excellent
access to some of the nation’s
primary transportation arteries.
Market Access | 9
Market Access — Trucking
Situated centrally along the East Coast, North Carolina is a prime
location offering superior trucking access to points nationwide. One
hundred seventy million American and Canadian consumers and 65 of
the country’s top 100 metropolitan areas are within 700 miles/1,100
kilometers of North Carolina’s borders and can be reached in two days
or less by car or truck. The intersections of major north-south and eastwest interstates make North Carolina a natural hub for distribution and
logistics operations.
Average Driving Times from
Central North Carolina
Asheville, NC
4 hours
Atlanta, GA
6 hours
Boston, MA
12.5 hours
Charleston, SC
4.5 hours
Miami, FL
14 hours
New York, NY
9 hours
Outer Banks, NC
3.5 hours
Philadelphia, PA
7 hours
Richmond, VA
2.5 hours
Washington, DC
4.5 hours
Wilmington, NC
2 hours
Transportation Time Estimates
Travel Times
1 Day
2 Days
3 Days
4 Days
5 Days +
Market Access | 10
Market Access — Trucking
With a large number of major distribution
facilities and within convenient driving
distance of major East Coast cities, North
Carolina is a major trucking state.
North Carolina’s trucking firms serve a wide array of industry sectors
with a range of local and regional to cross-country capabilities.
Some of North Carolina’s largest freight trucking firms include:
Distribution facilities in the
state include:
• ABF Freight System
• Black & Decker
• Arkansas Best Corporation
• Broyhill Furniture
• Averitt Express Incorporated
• BSH Home Appliances
• CNF Incorporated
• Gold Toe Brands
• Epes Transport Systems Inc.
• Harris Teeter
• Estes Express Lines Incorporated
• Kmart
• Old Dominion Freight Line Inc.
• Kay Chemical Co.
• Overnight Transportation
• Kelly Springfield/Goodyear
• Roadway Corporation
• Liberty Hardware
• Schneider National Incorporated
• Lowes Companies Inc.
• Roadway Express Inc.
• Pergo Wood Flooring
• USF Corporation
• Phillips Van-Heusen
• Watkins Motor Lines Incorporated
• Polo-Ralph Lauren
• Yellow Corporation
• Proctor & Gamble
• QVC
• Target
Market Access | 11
Market Access — Public Transportation
Public Transportation Access
More than 100 urban and rural public transportation systems serve millions of North Carolinians throughout
the state’s 100 counties. A network of transit authorities offers bus and shuttle services and encourages ridesharing through carpools and vanpools, providing energy-efficient, low-cost travel options for commuters.
In the wake of recent growth, many of the state’s urban centers and outlying communities are assessing or
implementing plans to step up available options to accommodate current and future public transportation
needs. Regional rapid area transit systems are planned for the Triangle and Charlotte.
High-Speed Rail Service
North Carolina is encouraged by plans for the proposed
Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor. Currently in the planning
stages, the corridor is expected to run from Raleigh to
Charlotte, with maximum speeds of 110 mph. It is part of an
overall plan to extend service from the existing high-speed
rail on the Northeast Corridor, which stretches from Boston to
Washington, D.C. to points in the Southeast. The high-speed
rail project is intended to provide an affordable, modern and
timely alternative to driving or flying short distances, and would
complement existing rail service in the region. A high-speed rail
trip from Charlotte to Washington, D.C. could take as little as
Convenient public transit systems
six hours. Based on available funding and current progress, the
connect major points within North
project could be implemented as early as 2014.
Carolina as well as connect the
state to its neighbors.
Passenger Rail Service
Six Amtrak rail lines traverse North Carolina, offering passenger
railway service up and down the East Coast and to points west.
N.C. Amtrak Stations
The Silver Star and Silver Meteor run between New York and
Miami; the Carolinian runs between Charlotte and New York;
Burlington
High Point
the Piedmont runs between Raleigh and Charlotte; the Crescent
Cary
Kannapolis
runs between New Orleans and New York; and the Palmetto
Charlotte
Raleigh
Durham
Rocky Mount
Fayetteville
Salisbury
Gastonia
Selma
Greensboro
Southern Pines
Hamlet
Wilson
runs between Savannah, GA and New York.
Bus Service
In addition to regional and city bus services with connector
shuttles, North Carolina hosts three major nationwide bus lines:
Carolina Trailways, Greyhound Trailways and Megabus Bus
Service.
Market Access | 12