SERVING ALASKA: The Puget Sound Brings Commerce Our Way.

• Author: PARDES, JOAN

Alaskans rely on the ports of Seattle and Tacoma for much of the goods they receive. Without those ports, there would be empty stores and few purchase options.

Though living in the Last Frontier is fundamentally different than life in the Lower 48, there are overwhelming similarities that link us together. We drive the same vehicles, watch the same television programs, use the same office equipment and buy the same products as our friends and families in the contiguous states.

Yet, almost everything we use on a daily basis at home and at work--comes to Alaska via our neighbors down south. From toothpaste to bulldozers, The Last Frontier's relationship with the ports of Seattle and Tacoma is essential to life as we know it and serious business for the region known as Puget Sound.

Port of Seattle

"Nearly everything you see, eat, use and consume in Alaska was brought in by barge, by truck or by air," said Scott Pattison, Alaska liaison of the Port of Seattle. Currently, the Port of Seattle is home to more than 15 tug and barge companies that service the Alaska marketplace from Southeast to the villages up north. "Most of the companies servicing Alaska operate out of port terminals that are private facilities, but we're partners by offering important infrastructure such as docks, highway and rail access, warehousing, air cargo and all the support necessary to have them dock in Seattle," Pattison said.

As of 1999, Alaska commanded 9 percent of the marine cargo business of the Port of Seattle--one of the 30 largest ports in the world. "Since 1998, we've seen a 1 percent to 3 percent growth in the Alaska market, but since 1990 the market has grown 24 percent," said Pattison, who lived in Alaska prior to his employment with the port that began in the early 1990s. While the barge companies bring consumer goods, construction equipment and vehicles north, the containers return south with Alaska fish heading to market in the Lower 48.

"Initially, our relationship was business-based with Alaska but we started to take a longer view in 1991. We wanted to build an institutional relationship that could stand the test of time and it has served both our regions well. We now trade brain trust and labor, and support each other financially and economically. Seattle depends very much on Alaska," Pattison said. "Alaska's economic impact in the Puget Sound region is substantial."

The Port of Seattle also includes the Seattle/Tacoma Airport that brought 650,000...