Blessed with the navigable waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio River—a thousand kilometers open to barge traffic—Ohio enjoyed an early boom in manufacturing and commerce. The industrial cities of Toledo, Akron, and Cleveland turn out rubber, automobiles, glass, and steel; today Ohio ranks third in U.S. manufacturing employment. As ports, Cleveland and Toledo benefit from foreign trade-zone status. Farms cover 56 percent of Ohio, which lies within the bountiful midwestern grain belt.
ECONOMYIndustry: transportation, equipment, metal products, machinery, food processing, electrical equipment.
Agriculture: soybeans, dairy products, corn, hogs, cattle, poultry and eggs.Text source:
National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition, 2004
