By sea and by air.

• Author: Griffin, Judith Fuerst
• Position: Anchorage, Alaska; sea-air transportation

BY SEA AND BY AIR

SEA-AIR SHIPPING HAS MIDdle-of-the road appeal. Offering faster delivery than all-water transit and lower cost than all-air routing, combined water and air transport is an attractive compromise suiting both service and bottom-line criteria of many companies competing in the global marketplace.

The sea-air specialty has matured in the last five years, particularly as a means of delivering Asian cargoes to Europe and South America. Only a small segment of transportation is routed via sea-air at major hubs for the traffic, but availability of the service enhances a location's appeal as a center for freight firm operations.

Bill Liddicoat, manager of air cargo development for the Port of Seattle, estimates Asia to Europe sea-air cargo transiting that port grew almost 60 percent from 1988 to 1989, increasing from 25,000-39,000 metric tons. Although cargoes that also transited Seattle-Tacoma International Airport rose from 15,900 metric tons in 1988 to 17,400 metric tons in 1989, the airport's share of last year's Asia to Europe sea-air cargoes shrunk to 42 percent from 64 percent in 1988. The remainder of sea-air shipments were moved by truck or rail to other North American airports.

Now officials with Anchorage's seaport and airport have designs on attracting sea-air business to Alaska. With $50,000, the Port of Anchorage and the Alaska International Airport System are jointly funding a study by Manalytics Inc., an international trade and transportation consulting firm, to assess the feasibility of and requirements for luring sea-air traffic to Alaska. Says Elliot Schrier, president of the San Francisco company, "The objective of the study is to find out if sea-air makes sense through Anchorage and to put together the cost and service picture."

Alaska's location equidistant from the world's largest markets - Europe, North America and Asia - gives it an edge on major West Coast U.S. hubs for sea-air traffic. Sailing time between East Asia ports and Anchorage is about two days shorter than to Seattle; about four days shorter than to Los Angeles. Further, flights from Anchorage to European cities average three hours less air time than do those from Seattle.

But by no means a shoo-in as a sea-air competitor, Anchorage first must prove it can deliver. Air transportation is the city's strong point - more cargo transited through Anchorage than any other U.S. airport last year. But the necessary water transportation is nonexistent...