Charlotte — Access to the World

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CHARLOTTE'S WELL-KNOWN PRO-BUSINESS environment is evident in its ability to move people and products efficiently and conveniently throughout the world. The city is one of the nation’s major transportation centers and the distribution hub for the sixth largest urban region in the United States.

Service is available by air, rail, land, inland port and direct water access. Factor in geographic location, amenable climate, convenience to major U.S. markets, a Foreign Trade Zone, U.S. Customs and Inland Port status — the result is advantages which can make your business easier to conduct and more profitable.

Charlotte’s balanced transportation infrastructure includes one of the nation’s major, advanced airport facilities, direct rail and interstate highway access to major southeastern seaports, import/export facilitation and intermodal shipping.

Exceptional Air Service
Air service in and out of Charlotte Douglas International (CLT) Airport is exceptional. CLT Airport is the 11th largest airport in the nation based on passenger totals. It is also the 24th largest airport worldwide based on passenger totals and 8th in the nation for total operations.

CLT Airport is considered the “gateway to the world.” It averages 655 flights daily on 11 major airlines and 14 regional carriers. These flights provide non-stop service to 179 cities. Over 34.5 million passengers traveled through CLT Airport in 2009.

To serve both the business and leisure traveler, Charlotte’s airport offers five concourses with 91 airline gates. This includes 46 domestic, 13 international and 26 regional gates. This abundance of gates helps maintain 85 percent of flights leave CLT Airport on time, compared to 79 percent nationally.

The design of the more than 1.7 million square-foot terminal is state-of-the-art with a glass enclosed expansion terminal that possesses the ambiance of a shopping mall and a food court. This is not your typical airport interior.

Charlotte is within 650 miles of most of the major U.S. markets. This location, midway along the East coast, makes air travel to all major cities more cost and time efficient than any other southeastern airport. CLT Airport boards more passengers annually than any airport in the Carolinas.

Many of those passengers are served by US Airways, the fifth largest airline in the United States. Corporate and private aircraft can find top-notch service from Wilson Air Center, Charlotte’s fixed base operator, where more than 36,000 operations annually keep Charlotte’s general aviation facilities active. In 2009, there were 509,448 aircraft operations for CLT Airport.

Excellent Air Freight Service
Charlotte serves its active business community with excellent airfreight service. The city ranked 40th nationwide in 2009 for air cargo; over 119,000 tons were carried on approximately 20 cargo carriers. CLT Airport offers over 500,000 square feet of warehouse space in the Charlotte Air Cargo Center. Charlotte offers both domestic freight and international air freight services to and from Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, South America and Mexico. The airport is also a major hub for small package express. Air couriers, commercial passenger carriers and large freight forwarders are available.

Major Trucking Industry
Trucking is one of the Charlotte region’s major industries, moving products and materials nationwide. North Carolina is currently the 16th largest trucking center, while Charlotte employs nearly 20 percent of the state’s work force in the industry. Located here are 327 trucking companies and 29,000 transportation employees, including truckers. Charlotte is the sixth largest trading area in the nation.

Service is provided by the best in the field. Most of the nation’s top trucking companies are in Charlotte. These companies provide all types of motor transport services: freight, liquid or dry bulk, heavy hauling, furniture moving and container shipping.

Area businesses can reap additional benefits from the trucking industry. Charlotte provides “break-bulk” point, which results in cost and time savings. The city is located within 24 hours of more than 50 percent of the nation’s population.

Convenient Highways
Charlotte is served by a highly efficient highway system. Interstates I-77 and I-85 join urban centers and manufacturing belts in the northeast, southwest and the midwest. Convenient I-40 offers an important east/west link. In addition, easy access is available on U.S. routes 74, 29 and 21.

North Carolina is committed to this high-level transportation system.  Both state and regional agencies are working to continue to upgrade roadways to meet future needs. There is also excellent bus service in Charlotte. Greyhound and Trailways provide area travelers with the option of traveling by bus with over 350 arrivals and departures weekly.

Major Rail Systems
The Charlotte region is at the center of the largest consolidated rail system in the country. Two major rail systems, Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation, link 43,200 track miles of rail to 23 states, D.C. and Canada. They bring approximately 300 trains through Charlotte weekly. Norfolk Southern’s $50 million computerized yard can classify up to 28,000 cars a day. Rail also provides piggyback facilities working with trucking capabilities in the city, and Amtrak in Charlotte provides passenger lines traveling north and south connections to east/west lines, providing access to most of the United States.

Efficient Water Connections
Charlotte is home to one of two inland intermodal terminals owned and operated by the North Carolina State Ports Authority. Customers realize an inland transportation cost savings by using the intermodal port. Containers moving between the terminal and Wilmington are moved either as part of a “matched load” or through the N.C. State Ports Authority’s “Sprint Truck Service.” With either method, the shipper is subject to one-way trip charges only.

The Carolina ports are worldwide gateways for importers and exporters linking the U.S. to distant locations, including northern Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, east and west Africa, South Africa, South America and Australia. An added benefit — Port of Entry and Inland Port designation — provides speedier process of international shipping through U.S. customs.

Impressive Support Facilities
Charlotte’s long history as a transportation/distribution hub has helped to develop strong ancillary support services. Services include: brokers, off-line railroad sales office, steamship line reps, custom-house brokers, freight consolidators, public warehouses, freight billing agents and foreign trade zone. The unique feature of Charlotte’s Foreign Trade Zone is a choice of storage location in either North or South Carolina.

With exceptional air cargo and trucking facilities, the Inland Port status, U.S. Customs, the Foreign Trade Zone, an impressive highway system, and exceptional rail service, Charlotte provides a top-of-the-line connection for moving products and materials efficiently and conveniently throughout the world.