Getting Goods Around the Globe: The ins and outs of international imports and exports.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa

To succeed in the global marketplace, companies that offer international shipping services must contend with a variety of challenges, ranging from the type of transportation available and finding direct service routes to a changing--and often confusing--political climate. Whether importing or exporting goods, international shipping companies possess extreme flexibility in order to succeed in an ever-shifting marketplace.

Import and Export Markets

According to the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), international imports to Alaska are driven by refined fuels, followed by machinery and industrial equipment. In 2017, manufactured commodities made up roughly 86 percent of all imports to the state.

Beau Rogers, international key account manager for TransGroup Global Logistics, says that most of the products that his company imports from other countries include items used by the maritime industry (cranes, winches, and cable) and by the mining industry (mining dredges and loaders). "We also import materials for the cruise line industry, including ship spares and perishables," he adds.

TransGroup Global Logistics is a midsized to large freight forwarder with more than ninety offices and an agent database of 150-plus offices worldwide.

"Asia is a big market for us on the import side, with Europe coming in second, followed by the Scandinavian countries," he says of products that make their way into Alaska as well as to destinations in the Lower 48. "We ship everything from nonhazardous chemicals to and from Asia, Europe, and South America that kill bacteria and help oxygenate water for marine life to heavy machinery parts and ship spares. One of our larger customers sends rental gear to various cruise lines in the Arctic and to South America, as well."

In 2018, Alaska shipped $4.8 billion worth of goods around the globe, making it the nation's 40th largest exporter by state. According to the World's Top 10 Exports website, while this reflects a 3.4 percent drop in value from 2017, overall, export value has increased 3.3 percent since 2015.

The BEA reports that exported products represent approximately 8.7 percent of the state's total economic output, worth $54.9 billion. The most exported products by dollar amount in 2018 included $1.2 billion in zinc ores, concentrates; $416 million in frozen fish meat; $356 million in lead ores, concentrates; $322 million in miscellaneous frozen fish; $316 million in frozen Alaska pollock...