Alaska's land transportation industry going strong in 2005: as Alaska's economy goes, so goes the transportation industry.

• Author: Colby, Nicole Bonham

It's a good time to be a transporter in Alaska. The economic forecast for the industry is positive. Many transportation-related jobs are projected to increase over the next decade, particularly occupations like commercial pilot or tour guide, analysts report. Overall, it appears Alaska transportation is in the pink--with geography, and factors like increased air cargo and tourism, to thank for it. Among the mix, land-based transportation--though admittedly not Alaska's largest transportation industry sector--is certainly keeping up the pace, with some 2,800 annual trucking jobs alone.

KEEP ON MOVING

In terms of an overall physical, Alaska's transportation industry is healthy--and will apparently continue to be so, state economists say. The state reports that 19,000 private-sector jobs currently come from transportation and warehousing. Add to that the public sector, including the Alaska Marine Highway and Alaska Railroad, and you have a venerable impact on the local labor force. In fact, transportation makes up 6 percent of Alaska's private jobs, whereas it accounts for only half that nationwide, reports the January edition of Alaska Economic Trends, a publication of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Job growth has historically been steady--20 percent over the past decade, compared to 17 percent for employment overall, economists say. And that growth will continue; it is expected to grow by 30 percent by the decade ending in 2012--to a projected 25,066 Alaska jobs.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Not surprisingly, Alaska's transportation industry thrives largely due to the breadth and location of the 49th state. It's common sense to realize that, as Alaska is not a manufacturing hub, most everything community-based Alaskans use, drive, wear and eat comes from somewhere else. And someone has to transport it from there to here. Therein lies the basis for industry giants like Lynden and its fleet of related transportation subsidiaries, which offer services across all modes. And Alaska is truly multi-modal, typically requiring many methods of transport for a shipment to arrive at its destination. "What would involve a single delivery vehicle in most of the nation, often requires a truck, ship, airplane and four-wheeler in Alaska," write state economists Neal Fried and Brynn Keith in their January report. "There are very few cases in this state where a good is shipped and arrives at its destination via a single mode of...