Translinked Talking Points
1. Michigan State University is home to the number one undergraduate and number two graduate
programs in supply chain management in the U.S.
2. Michigan is ranked first in the U.S. for graduating engineers per capita.
3. Detroit’s market reaches 88 million consumers within a day’s drive or 500 miles.
4. The Detroit region is home to 4 Class I railroads, 2 Class II regional railroads, 15 Class III shortline railroads and 8 switching and terminal operators.
5. Detroit is home to the busiest U.S. – Canadian border crossing.
6. In 2011, Michigan was the eighth largest exporter in the U.S. with $51 billion in goods and
services exported across the globe by 11,000 businesses.
7. Each year, the Detroit and Port Huron border crossings handle more than $200 billion in trade,
accounting for more than one-third of all U.S. – Canadian trade.
8. Michigan exports have increased by nearly 50 percent in the last decade, ranking the state in the
top 10 for export growth in the U.S.
9. The Export-Import Bank of the United States is opening one of four new branches in Detroit in
2012.
10. There are 54 foreign-trade zone sites in the Detroit region.
11. The average Michigan 10-hour truckload, a typical day’s drive, costs 13 to 14 percent less when
traveling to Midwest destinations as compared to other Midwest distribution hubs.
12. The border crossings in Detroit and Port Huron handle more than 11,000 trucks per day on
average.
13. Anchored by two international airports, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Willow
Run Airport, the Detroit Region Aerotropolis has immense capacity for new investment
connected to the world by highly-sophisticated logistics and transportation infrastructure
systems and IT networks.
14. The Detroit region is made up of Southeast Michigan, Southwest Ontario and Northwest Ohio.
15. The Detroit region is served by four interstates, four Class I railroads, five major airports and
several airfields, five international border crossings (three tunnels and two bridges), seven ports
and nine intermodal yards.
16. The Detroit regional has more than 100 years of manufacturing and trade expertise as home to
the auto industry.
17. Michigan exports have increased nearly 50 percent over the past decade, ranking Michigan in
the top 10 states for export growth among all U.S. states.
18. With more than 500 daily departures, 270 weekly international flights to more than 160
destinations worldwide and nonstop flights to more than 160 destinations, Detroit Metropolitan
Wayne County Airport offers access to the world as a key international hub and moves more
than $1.1 billion annually in air cargo.
19. The border crossings at Detroit and Port Huron are two of the busiest in North America with
more than $200 billion trade annually.
20. An average of $1.6 billion in goods ship between the U.S. and Canada every day.
21. Canada accounts for almost half of all U.S. exports.
22. The Detroit region is served by four of seven national Class I railroads in the U.S., which is
unique to only one-third of the nation.
23. Three of the four railroads in the Detroit region have intermodal facilities.
24. The Detroit region ranks first in incoming full rail container crossings from Canada, second in
incoming trains from Canada, second in rail tons of metallic ore originated (20.2 percent of U.S.
total) and third in rail tons metallic ore terminated (17.9 percent of U.S. total).
25. The Detroit region has 11 interstates radiating out from Detroit reaching from Quebec to
Mexico, connecting the region to both the east and west coasts.
26. Michigan colleges and universities graduate more than 6,675 engineers and engineering
technicians each year.
27. Approximately 300,000 people in the Detroit regoin work in the logistics industry.
28. The Detroit region has three of the largest ports along the St. Lawrence Seaway: Detroit, Toledo
and Windsor.
29. More than 17 million tons of cargo at 29 private terminal facilities flows through the Detroit
Wayne County Port Authority each year.
30. The Detroit Wayne County Port Authority offers 24-foot deep-water port access with a rail spur.
31. More than 200 million people and approximately $500 billion in goods move across the U.S. –
Canada border annually.
32. In 2007, 20 percent of all Canadian exports were to Canada. Conversely, 16 percent of U.S.
imports were from Canada.
33. In 2008, 75 percent of Canadian exports were to the U.S., representing nearly 33 percent of the
country’s gross domestic product.
34. In 2008 total trade between Michigan and Canada exceeded $67.4 billion, more than with any
other state.
35. U.S. – Canada trade plays a significant role in the economies of both countries by supporting
more than 2 million Canadian jobs and 7.1 million U.S. jobs, including approximately 221,500
jobs in Michigan.
36. Export supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for approximately 6 percent of
Michigan’s total private sector employment and nearly 25 percent of all manufacturing workers
in Michigan depend on exports for employment.
37. In 2007, Canada was Michigan’s most important trading partner, purchasing 58 percent of the
state’s foreign-bound goods.
38. Transportation equipment accounted for 54 percent of Michigan exports in 2008 followed by oil
and gas exports at 13 percent.
39. In 2008, Canadians and Michigan residents crossed the border almost 2.8 million times.