Greater Portland is the premier Westcoast location, offering unmatched convenience when it comes to air, interstate, port and rail transportation. With global manufacturing giants calling our region home, we have invested heavily in the infrastructure necessary to move talent and products throughout the country and the world. 

These investments have paid off. Tech companies like Airbnb have opened large offices here because it’s so easy to reach their headquarters from PDX - America’s Best Airport. Just as easily Daimler Trucks can transport products in and out of the port using large shipping containers and Reser’s Fine Food can move food products throughout the country using the interstate and railway systems. Whatever your company’s transportation needs are, Greater Portland has the solution.

Access

Air Transportation

Flights

Voted America's Best Airport four years running, Portland International Airport (PDX) provides critical, reliable connectivity to the world. PDX offers 80 national and 11 international air routes for customers and suppliers transporting time-critical goods and services.

Conveniently located less than nine miles from the urban core, PDX is directly linked to the city via light rail. There are 295 nonstop daily departures, including direct flights to New York; San Francisco; Vancouver, BC; and Washington, DC.

Daily international flights connect to London, England; Reykjavik, Iceland; Frankfurt, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Vancouver, BC and Calgary, AB, Canada; Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

More than 18 million passengers travel through PDX annually.

map of flights from PDX

PDX Facts and Figures

The award-winning Portland International Airport (PDX) offers customers convenient access to the cities and communities of the Portland-Vancouver, WA metro area, as well as a broad range of domestic and international flight options daily:

  • Less than nine miles from downtown Portlandground transport at PDX
  • Linked directly to the city center via light rail
  • 295 nonstop daily departures
  • Direct flights to New York; San Francisco; Vancouver, BC; and Washington, DC
  • Daily international flights to Tokyo and Amsterdam
  • Travel and Leisure readers’ survey voted Portland International Airport America’s Best Airport in 2019 and 2021
  • 80 nonstop international and domestic destinations
  • 17 domestic and international airlines
  • 13 air cargo carriers; in 2014, transported 228,500 tons on 8 all-cargo carriers

Regional Public Use General Aviation Airports

In addition to PDX, Grater Portland is served by a number of smaller regional airports:

Shipping Goods & Cargo

aerial view of port cranes

Greater Portland is home to two world-class ports, the Port of Vancouver USA and the Port of Portland. These ports, combined with the region's West Coast location and easy access to interstate highways, freight rail, and Portland International Airport, serve as a gateway for domestic and international shipping and receiving services to the largest markets in the world.

Greater Portland Port Advantage

  • Two times closer than the Gulf ports, providing faster cargo travel to the U.S. Midwest and Canada
  • 14 voyage days from Asian ports
  • 4 days rail to the U.S. Midwest

Port of Portland

  • 4 marine terminals
  • Served by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad
  • 22 deep-draft vessel berths

Port of Vancouver USA

  • 13 deep-draft vessel berths
  • Served by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad
  • Over 800 acres of developed industrial and marine property

Over 600 acres of land and 1.5 miles of waterfront access are available for future marine and industrial development.

Rail Access

Greater Portland is the only major metro market in the western U.S. where two Class 1 railroads converge.

With two Class 1 railroads, companies benefit from being able to negotiate costs. Both the Union Pacific (UP) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroads are options for Greater Portland-area companies that need to get goods to market.

Greater Portland rail options provide competitive transit times to major markets in the West and Midwest:

Class 1 Shipping Advantage

map of Portland rail routes

Destination Time to Market (Hours)
Salt Lake City 48-56
Denver 70-74
Omaha 85-104
Kansas City 85
Minneapolis 84-104
St. Louis 107
Memphis 120
Chicago 84-104
Detroit 108-152
Columbus 100-105

Source: Port of Portland, 2015.

Portland & Western Railroad (PNWR) and sister Willamette & Pacific Railroad (WPRR) are owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. Operating primarily under PNWR, the companies provide short-line rail service between Astoria and Portland and Portland and Eugene. The companies also provide rail access to a number of communities in the Portland metro area and generally west of Interstate 5 in the Willamette Valley. PNWR also has trackage rights over BNSF railway to Vancouver, Washington, to exchange traffic with BNSF.

PNWR contracts with TriMet to operate Westside Express Service (WES) commuter rail service between Wilsonville and Beaverton during peak commuting times on weekdays. WES began operation in early 2009 and is Oregon’s first and only heavy-rail commuter train service.

Companies needing to ship goods to markets domestically throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and outside of North America can use an extensive distribution ecosystem:

Interstate & Highway Transportation

The Greater Portland region serves as a major Westdriver time map for Portland, OR Coast freight hub and is a critical link for Pacific Northwest trade and economic well-being.

Interstates 5 and 84 are major inter-regional highways that intersect in the Greater Portland metro area and make the region a hub for long-distance shipping.

I-84 runs from Greater Portland along the Columbia River and through the Cascade mountains to major eastern markets and the broader interstate highway system.

I-5 runs north/south and has been designated an Intermodal Corridor of Economic Significance, crossing into both international markets of Canada and Mexico.

An extensive network of state highways enables companies to quickly reach major metro areas, including major ports and Portland International Airport – a 30- to 60-minute drive in many instances.