THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, October 25, 1994              TAG: 9410250339
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   44 lines

PORT, OHIO TEAM UP TO MARKET SERVICES

Gov. George F. Allen announced a cooperative marketing and development deal Monday between the Virginia Port Authority and Columbus, Ohio.

``What we're doing is getting Virginia's ports linked to America's heartland,'' Allen said at a news conference at Norfolk International Terminals.

The agreement is designed to bring more business to Virginia's port as a result of joint marketing of its import and export services to manufacturers and shippers.

Allen signed the agreement with the Greater Columbus Inland Port Commission on behalf of the port authority, which owns Hampton Roads' three major port terminals.

Allen said he didn't know how much cargo traffic would be generated by the agreement or how many jobs it would create. The goal was to make the joint venture ``something measurable and something real,'' he said.

Much of the cargo imported and exported through the port of Hampton Roads is going to or from the Midwest. As one of the busiest ports on the East Coast, the port handled nearly 7.4 million tons of general cargo in 1993.

The easiest way to move cargo between Columbus and Hampton Roads is via Norfolk Southern Corp.'s railroad. It operates daily service between the cities that offers second-day delivery.

Columbus created its inland port commission two years ago to tap a market that includes half the nation's population and manufacturing capacity within a 500-mile radius. The Columbus area is served by more than 100 trucklines as well as Norfolk Southern and Conrail Inc.

Columbus-area intermodal terminals, which handle the containers that can be transported by rail, truck and ship, moved nearly 180,000 containers last year. That figure is projected to increase to 270,000 by the year 2000 and 390,000 by 2010.

Columbus has entered into similar agreements with the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of New York and New Jersey. by CNB