Transportation
For more than 100 years, the Detroit region’s well-connected transportation infrastructure has served the automotive industry’s supply chain and is well positioned to become the next transportation logistics hub. With a vastly integrated highway and freeway system, seven international border crossings, five major airports and several airfields, a marine port and eight rail yards, people and goods move easily throughout the region, the United States and North America.
Interstates
The trade region is supported by 11 interstates that reach from Quebec, Canada to Mexico and connect the Detroit region to both the east and west coasts. Within Southeast Michigan there are nearly 4,900 truck route miles of highways and roads. With truck traffic expected to double by 2020, the Detroit trade corridor is positioned to assist trucking companies with lowering costs associated with truck delays in highly congested markets such as Chicago.
Bridges
- Detroit and Port Huron are the largest and fourth busiest border crossings in North America.
- Roughly 10,000 trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge each day.
- The Blue Water Bridge accounts for nearly 14 percent of truck trade between the U.S. and Canada.
Rail
Through service agreements, all major railroads serve the trade corridor and are able to ship throughout North America.
- The Detroit region is served by four of the seven national Class I railroads in the U.S., unique to only one-third of the nation.
- There are more than 3,600 miles of track in Michigan and 5,200 miles of track in Ohio.
- Three of the four railroads have intermodal terminals in regional Detroit.
Air
The economic region is home to 9 airports with more than $1.1 billion annually in cargo and nonstop service to more than 160 destinations.
- Within the 10-county Detroit region there are 5 major airports and several airfields.
- Wayne County’s Detroit Metropolitan Airport ranks as the 11th busiest airport in North America and 15th in the world for airport operations. Detroit/Wayne County Metropolitan Airport annually has more movements than either the JFK or LaGuardia airports in New York and Boston Logan Airport in Massachusetts.
Intermodal Facilities
- There are nine intermodal freight facilities spread throughout the Detroit region.
- More than 70 percent of the freight traffic in the region is handled by the trucking industry.
Water Ports
- The Port of Detroit is responsible for importing more than 750 million tons of steel annually.
- The Port of Windsor is made of more than 13 miles of shoreline and is the third largest Canadian Great Lakes port.
- The Toledo Port is comprised of 15 marine terminals, which handle nearly all types of commodities transported via waterways.
Utilities
The Detroit region has a well-developed utility infrastructure that reliably meets the needs of both industry and residents. As the capital of the nation’s automotive industry, the Detroit region is home to some of the world’s most advanced and intense manufacturing operations, which demand high loads and excellent service.
The state of Michigan has been a leader in opening its utility markets to competition, helping keep rates affordable. Electricity, natural gas and telephone customers (both residential and commercial users) can now choose from expanding lists of alternate providers.
In addition, Michigan is taking the initiative in finding alternative sources of power with projects such as NextEnergy, a plan to create a hub for fuel cell and alternative power generation research at the Wayne State University Research and Technology Park in the city of Detroit. Michigan created an aggressive renewable energy portfolio that mandates a minimum of 10 percent of all energy use come from carbon-free sources by 2015.
Communities in the 10 counties of the Detroit region are primarily served by two electric companies – The Detroit Edison Company and Consumers Energy (part of Lenawee County is served by the Midwest Energy Cooperative). For businesses interested in relocating to the Detroit region, both provide a broad selection of economic development services. The Detroit Edison Company (a subsidiary of DTE Energy, which also owns MichCon Gas) is the largest, servicing most of the Detroit region. Consumers Energy provides electricity to Genesee County.
Consumers of investor-owned utilities are able to choose their electric supplier, thanks to the Customer Choice and Electric Reliability Act of 2000. Local utilities will continue to provide distribution services. The legislation also enables industrial and commercial users to pool their power demand and negotiate with providers.
| The Detroit Edison Co. A DTE Energy Company |
2000 Second Ave. Detroit, MI 48226 |
Economic Development: 855.367.0255 |
Customer Service: 1-800-477-4747 |
| Consumers Energy | One Energy Plaza Jackson, MI 49201 |
Economic Development: 1-800-331-9366 |
Customer Service: (800) 805-049 |
| ITCTransmission | 39500 Orchard Hill Place, Suite 200 Novi, MI 48375 |
877.482.4829 (877.ITC.ITC9) |
Michigan is one of the nation’s largest sources of oil and natural gas with more than $2 billion in gross revenues each year.
Michigan ranks 16th in gas production by volume of all gas-producing states. The industry employs nearly 4,000 people in the Detroit region with more than 2,100 working within the extraction sector. Since 1925, there have been more than 56,800 wells drilled in the state and today there are 14,000 active oil and gas producing wells.
The recently implemented Customer Choice program enables consumers to choose their own gas supplier with delivery continuing through local utilities. For details, contact the Michigan Public Service Commission at 517.241.6180 or visit www.Michigan.gov.
| Consumers Energy | One Energy Plaza Jackson, MI 49201-2276 |
1-800-477-5050 |
| Michigan Consolidated Gas Co. | 2000 Second Ave. Detroit, MI 48226 |
1-800-477-4747 |
| Michigan Gas Utilities Corp. | 899 South Telegraph Rd. Monroe, MI 48161 |
1.800.401.6402 |
| SEMCO Energy Gas Co. | 1411 Third St. Suite A Port Huron, MI 48060 |
1-800-624-2019 |
| Citizens Gas Fuel Co. | 127 North Main St. Adrian, MI 49921 |
1.800.982.2831 |
Water Resources
One hundred twenty-six municipalities in the Detroit region contract through the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department for water supply and wastewater removal. The city’s water system draws from 3 intakes on the Great Lakes and supplies about 43 percent of Michigan’s population throughout a 1,079 square mile service area, including much of Genesee, Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Wayne and Washtenaw counties. The Detroit region’s plentiful supply of fresh Great Lakes water has helped keep rates among the lowest in the nation. For current water and sewer rates, contact the water department in your local community.
