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Alaska-Washington Connection 2011: Ports anchor AK-WA trade Diverse commercial activity to and from the Last Frontier helps to boost cargo, passenger traffic at ports of Tacoma, Seattle Rose Ragsdale For Alaska-Washington Connection
Cargo moving to and from the Last Frontier accounts for more than 100,000 jobs and some $3.8 billion in goods and services annually in Puget Sound, while cruise ship and air passenger traffic creates thousands more jobs and additional billions in revenue.
Numerous businesses through the Pacific Northwest depend on this commerce, also known as the Alaska-Washington trade.
The Port of Tacoma, a major gateway to Asia and Alaska, is among the largest container ports in North America and is a center for bulk, break-bulk and project/heavy-lift cargoes, as well as automobiles and trucks. Overall, the Port’s total tonnage is up 16 percent for the first half of 2011 with increases in break-bulk, autos, logs and grain. In 2010, the Port’s domestic container volumes, which include service to Alaska and Hawaii, increased by 2 percent.
In June, the Port completed a $53 million road grade separation project, designed to improve the flow of trucks and rail traffic through the Port’s terminal areas.
The Port also signed agreements that guarantee $590 million in federal stimulus money to improve the Amtrak Cascades rail corridor from Portland to Seattle also will benefit freight. Several safety-related projects to be completed with this funding include grade separations and the latest technology in advanced-warning signal systems. These projects will reduce passenger/freight congestion.
More than 30 members of the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce visited Tacoma in early May to meet with area business leaders and provide updates on the Alaska economy. The breakfast program included highlights on oil and gas, fishing and seafood, Alaska Native corporations, mining and transportation. The group also visited The NorthWest Co. (parent of Alaska Commercial Co.), VersaCold, and the TOTE terminal at the port.
Seattle has much to offer The Port of Seattle broke its cargo volume record in 2010 with more than 2.1 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units). The record-breaking year surpasses the previous high in 2005 of 2.08 million TEUs. Several factors contributed to the increase in container volume, including strong exports, more calls by container ships and larger ships calling at port.
Cargo handled at the Port of Seattle’s seaport generates over 135,000 jobs for Washington, and creates over $2 billion in annual business revenue for the region.
Bowhead Transport Co. serves communities on Alaska’s North Slope from Seattle. The barge company recently shipped construction supplies and equipment for hospital, water-sewer, runway-paving upgrades and natural gas field projects in Barrow, a power plant upgrade in Point Lay, a tank farm upgrade in Wainwright and U.S. Air Force-sponsored remediation projects.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, also administered by the Port of Seattle, is home to air cargo carriers such as Alaska Air Cargo and Lynden Air Cargo that support Alaska-Washington trade.
Alaska Air and sister carrier Horizon Air transport more than 150 million pounds of cargo annually, including seafood, mail and freight. Much of the airline’s cargo operation supports moving goods between Alaska and the Lower 48. Southbound, much of the product is fresh Alaska seafood. The airline transports more than 30 million pounds of fresh Alaska seafood each year from fishing towns throughout the state to markets and restaurants across the country. Northbound, Alaska Air transports a range of products, including U.S. Postal Service mail, essential supplies for remote Alaska communities and personal packages. The airline operates all-cargo and combi (part cargo/part passenger) aircraft.
American Fast Freight, one of the largest freight forwarders of Alaska-bound refrigerated cargo, helps to manage the thousands of tons of cargo flowing through the Puget Sound daily.
“We handle 1,500 individual shipments a week to Alaska, ranging (in size) from two boxes to 40-foot containers, sometime with 12-15 different shippers in one load,” said Mike Schuler, vice president of marketing at American Fast Freight.
The firm’s logistics division also handles large irregular shipments such as military housing to Elemendorf Air Force and repair trestles to the Alaska Railroad.
Schuler said cargo moving through the ports is becoming more global, which reflect more international sourcing, and his company recently introduced a new tracking program, FastTrax, in Alaska that will greatly enhance its shipment delivery system.
People traffic also thrives Transporting millions of people to Alaska every year, whether through its Smith Cove Cruise Terminal and Bell Street Pier or through air carriers at Sea-Tac is another important job of the Port of Seattle. Alaska Airlines, for example, averages 97 daily departures from Sea-Tac, on its Alaska routes, and 41 daily departures from its Anchorage hub. The airline reported a 16.7 percent increase in passenger traffic on a 13.2 percent increase in capacity for the first five months of 2011 over the same period in 2010.
Seattle’s cruise business – currently leading all U.S. cruise homeports on the west coast in passenger volume and number of ship calls – is responsible for more than 4,447 jobs, $425 million in annual business revenue, and nearly $19 million annually in state and local tax revenues. An estimated 807,300 cruise passengers in 195 cruise calls traveled through Seattle to Alaska in the 2011 season on Carnival, Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean.
In addition, the Disney Corp. is scheduling weekly Alaska-bound cruises from Seattle aboard the “Disney Wonder” in 2012.
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