Alaska: tied to the Pacific Northwest: link an important and vital one.

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"I'm from Alaska," I tell the checkout clerk, showing my Alaska driver's license and a credit card. Alaskans, who occasionally shop on a trip to or through the state of Washington, are always welcomed with a smile--and, oft times, Alaska "discounts," such as special rates at Seattle/Tacoma and Bellingham hotels, as well as sales tax deductions. Alaska residents shopping in and around Puget Sound may constitute a drop in the retail trade bucket of the area, but the economic bond between Washington state and Alaska continues to grow.

In fact, Alaska license plates are not uncommon in the Seattle area. The country's 14th (Arbitron rankings) largest market is bolstered by the infusion of Alaska retail dollars. The need to import a wide range of goods and services keeps Alaskans well aware of the link between the two states. With the West Coast/Pacific Rim push to increase international trade, sometimes businesses in the Puget Sound area forget the many benefits they enjoy by trading with Alaska. The 2004 study, "Ties that Bind," showed how the region reaps more than $4 billion as a result of trade with the 49th state. That equates to more than 103,000 jobs, with the number growing by more than 1,000 jobs a year. The Seattle-area ports and airport are the connecting lifeblood arteries to Alaska. Consequently, Puget Sound serves as the receiving end and hub for Alaska's resource-based industries. Everything from petroleum and forest products, seafood, and manufactured goods leaving Alaska are routed through the Puget Sound on their way to the Lower 48 and to foreign markets, including Asia and Europe. Let's add Alaska's world-class micro beers to the list of goods receiving world recognition.

The opportunities for trade continue to grow as Alaska's economy and population similarly expand.

SHARED WATERWAYS: CARGO

It is a long road to the Last Frontier. But that road is shortest from Puget Sound to Nichols Passage and the Gulf of Alaska, as emphasized by trade numbers from Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce. The Port of Tacoma just announced plans to build a $300 million, 168-acre container terminal to be leased to Yusen Terminal NYK Line). A news release from the port of Tacoma highlights an Alaska tie: "In addition to building the YTTI terminal, the port will develop a redesigned terminal with expansion capabilities for Totem Ocean Trailer Express Inc. (TOTE), a major domestic shipping line serving the Alaska market. TOTE has called at the Port of Tacoma since 1976." TOTE operates a fleet of roll-on/ roll-off (RO/RO) cargo ships from Tacoma to Anchorage. In August, the privately owned company announced its completion of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14401:2004-certification process for environmental management standards to complement its ISO certification for quality management systems (9000 series), which it has held since 1998.

This new certification follows TOTE's acceptance of the Tacoma Environmental Business Award received from Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce in April 2007. "We've been focusing on waste reduction and energy consumption for the past year and we feel very heartened at the fruition of our efforts," says TOTE President and Chief Operating Officer Bill Deaver. "We're serious about our environmental practices and we intend to deliver on our promise of environmental responsibility and continual improvement." Deaver emphasizes the company's push to build confidence among other companies doing business with TOTE in TOTE's commitment to environmental responsibility.

Concurrently, the Port of Seattle Commission is converting and expanding to better serve Alaska's cruise ship, shipping, and fishing industries.

Terminal 30 at the Port of Seattle is used for cruise operations and is being converted and combined with Terminal 25 to provide 70 acres for container use while expansion of Terminal 91 will allow it to be used by the Bering Sea factory trawler fleet in winter months and with this expansion the cruise ships will utilize the terminal in summer months. Both should be ready in early 2009. A subsequent phase to the expansion of Terminal 91 proposes construction on the new cargo terminal complex. The changes will increase vessel traffic. The Port Authority projects 5.6 percent increase in vessel traffic, to include 75 more deep-draft vessels through Puget Sound annually.

In terms of cargo, Puget Sound marine terminals serve cities and villages throughout Alaska's Southeast, Central, Aleutian, Western, and Arctic regions. Alaska helps keep Puget Sound's economy viable.

SHARED WATERWAYS: TOURISM

Seattle's cruise business took to the water in 1999 with continued growth every year. Last year appreciated a bold 10 percent increase represented by 751,000 people boarding ships operated by Seattle's homeport cruise lines. Numbers this year will likely top 829,000. The cruise lines are all familiar in Alaska's ports of call: Princes Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line, and Royal Caribbean. Seattle's entrance into the cruise ship business is proving to be a big convenience for the Alaska-bound traveler. Alaska cruises continue to grow in popularity as more and more people seek out the awesome wonder of Alaska's beauty. The glaciers, wilderness, wildlife, and a sampling of life in Alaska make the state a popular cruise destination.

The economy of the industry includes supplying goods and services to the vessels, as well as passengers spending money locally before and after what is often the cruise of a lifetime.

SHARED AIR

For modern-day travelers--beyond the long-running waterborne history shared by the Seattle and its sister to the North--Alaska and the Pacific Northwest have shared a similar commercial link across the skies.

This year, namesake Alaska Airlines celebrates its 75th anniversary and status as the ninth-largest U.S. airline based on passenger traffic. The airline also has the distinction of carrying the largest number of passengers between Alaska and Lower 48. The company traces its lineage to 1932 and Linious "Mac" McGee of McGee Airways' three-seat Stinson schedule connecting Anchorage and Bristol Bay. A subsequent merger with Star Air Service in 1934 created the largest airline in Alaska, which eventually became Alaska Airlines. Today, the airline, though headquartered in Seattle, continues to represent in consumers' minds the northern frontier of Alaska--especially given the familiar and distinctive Eskimo logo on the tails of the airline fleet. So perhaps it's not so much a coincidence that Alaska has figured so prominently in so many of Alaska Airlines' innovations--from improvements in technology to advanced customer-service methods. Alaska Airlines is a leader and trendsetter for navigational aids improvements with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

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Three years ago, the airline introduced its "Airport of the Future" advanced customer check-in process at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. The now-familiar kiosk design that replaced the traditional ticket counter have halved the average wait time for Anchorage Alaska Airlines customers, the airline reports. The proven and successful design will be expanded to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport by the end of this year, according to the airline.

Customer service methods aren't the only aspect of Alaska Airlines' operations to involve an Alaska debut. Back in 1996, Alaska Airlines was the first world airline to use the Global Positioning System (GPS) technology with the latest in Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS). Sister-airline Horizon soon followed suit. Using such high-tech wizardry, Alaska Airlines used Required Navigation Performance (RNP) technology to navigate the rugged landscape surrounding many airports in Alaska, offering pinpoint-accurate approaches and departures from some of the state's most challenging airways. Nowadays, travelers in Alaska on the namesake airline unknowingly benefit from the safety provided by Alaska Airlines and its high-tech methods. Such RNP technology has also since spread from Alaska airports to those around the world.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport serves an average of 35 departures per day to Alaska cities.

THE ALASKA FACTOR

Ask any old-timer and they will admit there are challenges to living in Alaska--distance, weather, population fluctuations--but the rewards make it all worth the effort. The same can be said of the business climate.

Forbes.com's annual Best States for Business brings home the cost of doing business in the state. Alaska has the second smallest state population and the largest land and ranks 28th highest for business costs, based on the cost of labor, energy and taxes. The state's overall ranking is 47. Washington's overall ranking is an impressive number five. The complete table is available at: http://www.forbes.com/2007/07/10/ washington-virginia-utah-biz-cz_kb_0711bizstates-table.html

As evidenced in the Forbes.com article, doing business in Alaska takes a little extra initiative and spirit. But for those who do, the rewards can be equally considerable. For companies like Alaska Airlines, which makes a commercial venture out of mastering the challenges of crossing the expansive landscape of the 49th state, the "Alaska factor" has required some level of proactive nature in addressing related issues. The state figured prominently in the airline's drive this autumn to improve its goal of 80 percent on-time operations, according to a company announcement in August. The goal is based on Department of Transportation (DOT) records of domestic flights that arrive within 15 minutes of the published arrival time. Alaska's overall on-time performance reached 79.9 percent in April and 72.8 percent in August, lagging its rate for the same period last year. In August, the airline announced a strategic initiate to improve its operations performance. The company reported several labor-related issues that touched its Seattle and Alaska-based operations: the challenge of hiring and retaining ramp service agents. "Anchorage lacks about one-quarter of its required 21 leads and is short six agents," the airline reported. "The situation is aggravated when Anchorage lends ramp (and customer service) agents to other stations, such as Bethel, where shortages are even more acute. Fairbanks and Ketchikan also lack staff, despite the airline's willingness to pay a premium for new hires," according to a company press release.

In such operations across wide geographies, sometimes even the smallest detail can provide improvement. With that in mind, Alaska Airlines proactively alleviated the confusion of operating heavily in two time zones by implementing a single-source clock in its computers.

ALASKA'S HEALTH

Alaska's hospitals, clinics, and medical centers most all have ties to facilities in Washington state. Alaska' largest communications provider, GCI, has combined more than 140 clinics, hospitals, and medical facilities across Alaska and Washington with ConnectMD. Included in the grouping is Virginia Mason Medical Center, Children's Hospital in Seattle, Alaska Regional Medical Center, Alaska Psychiatric Institute, and other leading medical facilities, according Anna Hughes on behalf of GCI ConnectMD. The ability for GCI to deliver medical network services across Alaska's vastness distinguishes GCI ConnectMD from other health IT solutions. ConnectMD allows all participating facilities to securely exchange medical data and provide access to a suite of health IT tools and services, such as emergency direct connections, video, network consulting services, practice management systems, and medical training and educational services.

In July, GCI made an agreement with iSALUS health care to provide a new way for physicians, clinics, and hospitals to adopt electronic medical records (EMR) within the clinical and business needs. The service is now available to the health care community in Washington and Alaska and is supported over the GCI ConnectMD[R] network.

"We're thrilled to partner with iSALUS health care to provide our current and prospective customers with efficient, cost-effective solutions," says Martin Cary, vice president and general manager of GCI Managed Broadband Services. With its expansion into Washington, ConnectMD is now the largest medical network in the Pacific Northwest.

ALASKA'S WATER HIGHWAY

Some 350,000 people annually access Alaska via the state's ferry system, or Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS). Additionally, more than 100,000 vehicles make their way into and around the state to areas without a hard-roadway system. Primary ferry service is in Southeastern Alaska, but also serves communities and villages on the Gulf of Alaska and all the way to Unalaska/Dutch Harbor. The ferry system goes as far south as Bellingham, where the summer's northbound trips run at near capacity. The ferry caters to tourism, but many a local makes the trip several times per year. The AMHS is an excellent example of a shipping line offering regularly scheduled service for the primary purpose of transportation, rather than solely leisure and/or entertainment.

ENDURING RELATIONSHIPS

Shari Gross Teeple of Gross & Associates summarized the union between the states best in "Ties That Bind," noting, Alaska's economic relationship with the Puget Sound region is expanding, evolving, and enduring (the subheading of the study her firm authored in 2002).

Teeple, who lived in Alaska for more than 25 years and now calls Tacoma home, said the 2002 study was the third since 1985, with all aimed at elected and decision-making officials. From her years in Alaska, perhaps she saw the need to tell it like it is and bring awareness to the state of Washington, its business community, and the powers that be to recognize Alaska's benefit to Washington's economy and maybe even their well being. The list of some 32 sponsors that helped fund the research ranges from Alaska Crab Coalition to Wells Fargo-Alaska and from ConocoPhillips to VECO--all heavy hitters in the regions' economy.

Perhaps the only change in the past five years since the last iteration of study is an increase in the amount of business shared by the two states and perhaps a growing complacency. That perhaps because the more prominent chambers of commerce in the Puget Sound area have not updated the bi-state figures since 2002.

Representing key markets for their resident companies, both Alaska and Washington have reason to pay attention to the interstate commerce between the two. More so than perhaps any other relationship in the country. Washington is the primary gateway to Alaska and the relationship is well over 100 years old and strong. The counter-cyclical state's economies act as a stimulus, offsetting regional downturns. Each provides the other with regional produced exports. Alaska ranks fifth among all of Washington's trading partners. Historically, Washington's exports to Alaska have increased more than 50 percent every 10 years. With Alaska's growing economy and population that rate is likely increasing at an even higher rate. Alaska's booming cruise ship industry now has departures from Seattle as well as Vancouver.

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By weight, more than 97 percent of goods in route to Alaska go by water. By dollar value, it is three-fifths by water and two-fifths over the Alcan Highway. The givens in today's economy are fish and petroleum.

Alaska's increasing population consists primarily of migrants. After all, only 38 percent of Alaskans were born in the state. Washington is a big importer there, as well. The Puget Sound counties of King, Pierce, and Snohomish give more of its people to Alaska than any other region of the country. The reverse is true as well: a majority of Alaskans leaving the state end up in those same three counties.

It is estimated that Puget Sound area adds more than 1,000 employees annually to keep up with the growing trade between the states.

One does not have to be an economic guru like Teeple to appreciate the ties between the two states and to realize that Puget Sound and Alaska are more than just healthy trading partners.