Transportation
With a mid-Atlantic location approximately halfway between Boston and Miami, North Carolina's Eastern Region is ideally situated for manufacturing and distribution enterprises. Two-thirds of U.S. commercial facilities are within a day's trucking distance, and the Region is well served by air, rail and seagoing carriers, as well as by major package delivery services such as UPS, FedEx and DHL.
Major Highways
Interstate 40 runs through Duplin County and connects the Eastern Region with Wilmington, Raleigh - Durham, Greensboro and the western U.S.
Interstate 95, running through Wilson and Nash Counties, is one of the most important north-south travel routes on the East Coast.
U.S. Highway 70 is the Eastern Region's "Main Street," linking area cities with the port at Morehead City to the east, the Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle area to the west, and serving as a connector to I-40 and I-95.
Other key regional routes include Interstate 795, U.S. Highways 64, 264, 17, 117, and 258, and state routes 58, 55 and 24.
Airports
Regional airports in Greenville, New Bern and Jacksonville offer daily flights to Charlotte, Atlanta and Philadelphia. The Kinston Regional Jetport's 11,500 foot Category II ILS runway (the longest commercial runway between Washington DC and Atlanta) is the centerpiece of the 5,000 acre Global TransPark-GTP business park. Two major airports, Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington-New Hanover County, provide international connections and are within easy driving distance. The region is also served by numerous General Aviation Airports with excellent facilities.
Foreign Trade Zones-FTZ
Foreign Trade Zones located in the Global TransPark, the Port of Morehead Cityand the nearby Port of Wilmington, plus two active Subzones, NACCO Materials Handling Group (subzone 214B) and Consolidated Diesel (subzone 214A), enable companies doing international business to avoid formal customs entry and many customs duties, government taxes and cargo examination, thereby expediting processes and adding to the company's bottom line.
Seaports
The Port of Morehead City is the second largest of the North Carolina ports and is the major deepwater port serving the Eastern Region. The Port of Wilmington, the state's largest, is also easily accessible from all Eastern Region counties.
Rail
Norfolk Southern and CSX are the main suppliers of railroad freight service in the region. Norfolk Southern has a Class One Railroad system that serves the Morehead City port and surrounding areas. Freight service is also available through CSX. Passenger rail service is available daily at stations in Rocky Mount and Wilson. Nash County Railroad is a short line that serves areas around Rocky Mount.
Utilities
North Carolina's Eastern Region offers a well-developed utility infrastructure, with capacities to handle just about any manufacturing application.
Electric suppliers serving the region include Progress Energy, ElectriCities of North Carolina, Inc., Dominion North Carolina Power, Dominion Virginia Power, and the NC Electric Membership Corporation.
Piedmont Natural Gas is the primary natural gas provider to the Region, although certain cities such as Rocky Mount, Greenville and Wilson also provide natural gas to users within their service areas.
Telecommunication services are provided by AT&T, Century Link and all other major national providers.
e-NC is a grass roots initiative to link all North Carolinians - especially those in rural areas - to the Internet.
Water and sewer infrastructure is well established throughout the Eastern Region, and most of the larger cities have significant capacities to meet the demands of a wide range of industrial operations.
