The Port of Tacoma Commission Friday approved a restated lease with Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc. (TOTE) that calls for a redeveloped Blair Waterway terminal for TOTE's Alaska cargo business.
Under the lease, which runs through 2034, the Port will redevelop the TOTE terminal that will be up to 72 acres (29 hectares) in size, allowing TOTE to meet the growing Alaska market for decades to come, said Port of Tacoma Commission President Dick Marzano.
"Over the past three decades, TOTE and the Port have grown together to expand our region's business with Alaska," Marzano said. "And with that growth, many primary and secondary support companies – both here and in Alaska – have expanded to serve TOTE's business. We are very proud that with this agreement, we'll be able to continue our long-standing relationship with TOTE, also ensuring that the Port of Tacoma will remain the 'Gateway to Alaska' for years to come."
TOTE President and Chief Operating Officer Bill Deaver shared Marzano's sentiments. "We are very happy with the impact of our new lease with the Port of Tacoma, as the lease provides access to additional land in future years and will meet our customers' growth requirements for close to three decades."
TOTE's opportunity for growth is due to the Port's recently announced agreement with NYK Line to build a 168-acre (68-hectare) facility for container terminal operator Yusen Terminal Tacoma Inc. (YTTI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NYK Line. Portions of TOTE's existing, 47-acre (19-hectare) terminal will be incorporated into the NYK terminal.
Construction on the $104.3 million TOTE Terminal is scheduled to begin in 2009 and be complete in 2011. YTTI construction will start in 2010 and be complete by mid-2012.
TOTE operates a roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) service between the ports of Anchorage and Tacoma, moving 53-foot highway trailers directly on and off the vessels. This service allows for fast, efficient cargo distribution throughout Alaska.
TOTE first began calling in Tacoma in 1976, when Port management and the local longshore workforce together marketed Tacoma's advantages to TOTE executives. Three decades later, more than 70 percent of all waterborne commerce between the lower 48 states and Alaska is handled through the Port of Tacoma on vessels operated by TOTE and Horizon Lines, the Port of Tacoma's other Alaska carrier.
Today, Alaska trade makes up 25 percent of the Port's total trade volume. In 2006, TOTE and Horizon Lines collectively handled more than $3.5 billion in goods between Tacoma and Alaska.

Pacific Northwest-Alaska Economic Connections
While Puget Sound is more dependent on international trade than any other region in the nation, a 2004 report documented the economic links with Alaska are equally important. Ties That Bind: The Enduring Economic Impact of Alaska on the Puget Sound Region, commissioned by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, outlined the growing economic relationship between the two regions. Key facts outlined in the report included:

* The Port of Tacoma handles more than 70 percent of waterborne commerce between Alaska and the Continental United States.
* The Port of Tacoma's two-way trade with Alaska accounts for more than $3.5 billion per year (2006), making Alaska the Port
of Tacoma's third largest trading partner behind only China and Japan.
* More than 46,000 jobs in Puget Sound are directly related to trade with Alaska.
* The growth in jobs from Alaska-Puget Sound trade between 1994 and 2003 is equal to attracting a 1,000-employee company to
the region each year.
* The Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska provide more than half the total U.S. fishing harvest.