By the early 1830s, the Port of Ashtabula was a busy hub for shipping on the Great Lakes. For a time, it was one of the world's busiest receiving ports. When the Pittsburgh, Youngstown, and Ashtabula Railroad was built in 1873, waterborne trade in coal and ore increased. By the 1960s, the Port of Ashtabula was the world's third busiest port for iron ore. The modern Port of Ashtabula is served by road, rail, and of course water.

The Ashtabula City Port Authority is a major player in the city's economic development efforts. Recent projects supported by the port authority include the dredging the Ashtabula River, establishing the Ashtabula City Industrial Park, and participating in the Green Energy Ohio Anemometer Loan Program. In August 2009, the Ashtabula City Port Authority worked with the Ashtabula Area Chamber Foundation to host the now annual Wine & Walleye Festival.

The Port of Ashtabula is about eight kilometers (five miles) from Interstate Highway 90, linking the port to markets to the east (Buffalo, New York) and west (Chicago, Illinois). The four-lane State Route 11 links the port to the Ashtabula City Industrial Park to the north and to major consumer markets in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and ad West Virginia. The Norfolk Southern and CSX Rail Transport provide railroad service to the Port of Ashtabula.

Vessels sailing Lake Erie use the docks operated by Kinder Morgan/Pinney Dock & Transport and Norfolk Southern to pick up and deliver cargo. The majority of the cargo handled in the Port of Ashtabula is made up of coal, iron ore, sand and gravel, stone, and limestone.

Located within one kilometer (one-half mile) of the deep-water Pinney Docks, the Ashtabula City Industrial Park was completed in 2007. The nine sites in the park range from one to 16 acres. The park is equipped with storm and sanitary sewers, natural gas, electricity, and telephone service. Prospective tenants may be eligible for assistance and incentives when locating in the Port of Ashtabula City Industrial Park.

Visitors to the Port of Ashtabula will find many opportunities for outdoor recreation. There is a long list of fishing charters available in the Port of Ashtabula, and there are eleven marinas and yacht clubs along the waterfront. The marinas provide seasonal and overnight dockage, boat launching ramps, winter storage, picnic facilities, and camping.

The port authority has a transient dock on the west side of the riverfront. Built in 2001 for visiting boaters, the dock is 76.2 meters (250 feet) long and offers the only free sanitary pump-out station on Lake Erie. Visitors to the Port of Ashtabula can dock there for a maximum of two hours. Longer visits and overnight boaters must stay at a local marina. The transient dock in the Port of Ashtabula is also available for community events.

Boat launching facilities in the Port of Ashtabula are located on the Ashtabula River/ARU, Ashtabula River/Brockway North Coast Marina, and Lake Shore Park/Lake Shore Bait & Tackle. Boat launch fees do apply.

From late October through April, when the river is not frozen, steelhead fishing is excellent in the Port of Ashtabula. In the warmer months from June until September, walleye are plentiful. The August Wine & Walleye Festival features a walleye fishing tournament.

Pinney Dock & Transport Company owns and operates several docks in the Port of Ashtabula. Port of Ashtabula Dock No. 4 is used by Pinney Dock & Transport Company to receive foreign and domestic general cargo and to receive pig iron, lumber, and ore. The dock has berthing distance of 609.6 meters (2000 feet) with alongside depth of 7.9 meters (26 feet). There is a five-acre open storage area at the rear of the dock, and the transit shed is dedicated to shortage of dry bulk commodities. The transit shed is equipped with drying and bagging equipment. Other transit sheds are used for public storage warehouses. A 488-meter (1600-foot) surface rail track connects the Port of Ashtabula Dock No. 4 to the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Pinney Dock & Transport owns and operates the Port of Ashtabula Dock No. 3 is used to receive sand, quartz, potash, limestone, and ore by self-unloading vessel. Port of Ashtabula Dock No. 3 has berthing distance of 609.6 meters (2000 feet) with alongside depth of 7.9 meters (26 feet), and the dock shares an open storage area with Port of Ashtabula Dock No. 4. One surface rail track on the pier connects the dock with the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Pinney Dock & Transport also owns and operates the Port of Ashtabula Docks No. 1 and 2 to receive sand, potash, limestone, and quartz by self-unloading vessel. Port of Ashtabula Docks No. 1 and 2 have total berthing distance of 1219 meters (4000 feet) with alongside depth of 7.9 meters (26 feet). At the rear of Dock No. 1 is an open storage area, and storage areas between Docks 1 and 2 have total capacity for two million tons of cargo. One surface rail track connects the rear of Dock No. 1 with the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Pinney Dock & Transport also owns and operates the Port of Ashtabula Union Dock, Outer End to receive iron ore pellets by self-unloading vessel. During the closed navigation season, the dock is used for mooring vessels for maintenance and repair. The Port of Ashtabula Union Dock has berthing distance of 365.2 meters (1198 feet) with alongside depth of 8.5 meters (28 feet). An open storage area at the rear of the dock can accommodate one million tons of iron ore. Three surface rail tracks extend along the slip and continue to the storage yards nearby and to the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Owned and operated by Pinney Dock & Transport, the Port of Ashtabula A & B Dock, Inner End, is used for mooring vessels for maintenance and repair during the closed navigation season. This Port of Ashtabula dock has berthing distance of 426.7 meters (1400 feet) with alongside depth of 8.5 meters (28 feet). Surface tracks parallel to the slip and at the rear of the dock connect with nearby storage yards.

Norfolk Southern Corporation owns and operates the Port of Ashtabula Coal Dock to ship coal and moor vessels. The Port of Ashtabula Coal Dock has berthing distance of 853.4 meters (2800 feet) with alongside depths of 8.2 and 4.3 meters (27 and 14 feet). An overhead conveyor bridge crosses the Ashtabula River, connecting the dock to coal storage areas with capacity for 1.2 million tons, to three concrete surge silos with total capacity for 12 thousand tons, and then by belt conveyor to the coal loader. The storage area has a stacker-reclaimer with capacity to stack 3000 tons and reclaim 5000 tons per hour. A 305-meter (1000-foot) surface track along the rear of the dock is equipped with a rotary dumper that can unload from 2500 to 3000 tons per hour.

Norfolk Southern also owns and operates the Port of Ashtabula Dock No. 9 to moor vessels. The dock has berthing distance of 746.8 meters (2450 feet) with alongside depths of 7.3 and 1.8 meters (24 and 6 feet). Norfolk Southern maintains storage yard tracks at the rear of the dock.

Pinney Dock & Transport Company owns, the Great Lakes Towing Company operates the Port of Ashtabula Dock to moor company-owned tugboats that serve other locations on Lake Erie as well. The dock has berthing distance of 121.9 meters (400 feet) with alongside depths of 7 and 6.1 meters (23 and 20 feet). Three surface rail tracks along the slip join nearby storage yards.

The US Government owns, and the US Coast Guard operates the Port of Ashtabula Station Wharf to moor US Coast Guard vessels. There is a small craft boathouse and launching ramp at the head of the slip, and a timber catwalk connects the boathouse to the slip. At the rear of the wharf are the US Coast Guard Station and equipment buildings. The Port of Ashtabula US Coast Guard Station Wharf berthing distance of 27.7 meters (91 feet) with alongside depths of 0.6 and 0.9 meters (two and three feet).

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