Alaska's Kodiak airport faces sea freight inroads as fish go by ship

ALASKA's Kodiak airport has recorded a decline in its air traffic volumes over a seven year period handling up to 16.6 million pounds at its peak in 2005 to 9.8 million pounds, a 40 per cent decline.

Much of the decline at the airport is due to the migration to sea freight driven by increases in aviation fuel price. Kodiak Island, on the south coast of Alaska, is known for its large volume of fish exports.

The airport suffered the loss of a major player in the Fairbanks carrier, Northern Air Cargo, which impacted its customers such as agent Doug Theis, who has reduced his head count and introduced a rate increase with the island's mail carrier, Alaska Central Express.

However, the increase in container traffic seen at 363 TEU on board state-owned ferries in the year to date has followed on from consecutive years of container traffic growth.

The Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Mr Theis said he was sympathetic to shippers' move to sea freight: "After all, everybody wants a good deal, right?"

The recent state bond at Kodiak port is to contribute to a US$15 million new pier at the cargo dock. This is further supported by Horizon Lines' intention to buy a new, larger, cargo container crane, cited a report by KMXT, a public radio station in Kodiak, Alaska.