Portland is a major West Coast seaport and Oregon's primary distribution hub. The harbor is home to a mix of public and private docks and terminals that handle international, coast-wide and Columbia/Snake River system cargo. Roughly one third of the cargo facilities in the Portland Harbor are owned or operated by the Port of Portland, and a bit more than two-thirds of the international cargo moving through the harbor moves across Port docks. The mix of cargo at the Port of Portland's marine facilities has continued to evolve over the last 100 years, and currently consists of a mix of terminals that handle bulk exports such as grain and minerals, automobile imports and exports, breakbulk steel and forest products, and containerized cargo. The mix will continue to change as our regional economy evolves.

The Port of Portland actively works with other public ports, in a region stretching from Idaho to the Oregon coast, to assure the continued competitiveness of the Columbia/Snake River system for maritime commerce, and to meet the changing shipping needs of the communities served.

The MTMP 2020 was coordinated with the I-5 Transportation and Trade Partnership, the Port of Vancouver USA, the City of Portland's River Renaissance Project, and other state and local agencies, to address the goals and objectives of other significant regional planning efforts affecting transportation and maritime commerce, the health of the river and the resilience of the regional economy.

Because of our location at the intersection of two interstate highways, two mainline railroads, and the Columbia/Snake/Willamette River system, the Port is well positioned for access to Pacific Rim markets. Portland enjoys an efficient road/rail/barge/ship transportation system, which has a history of steady growth. Port of Portland waterborne trade has tripled since 1970 and has grown from seven million tons in 1980 to 11.8 million tons in 2000.