EVERETT — Activity at the Port of Everett was down last year by about 20 percent, but officials expect it to grow again this year as the world economy improves.
“The Russian economy is booming; the price of oil is really high,” said the port’s Carl Wollobek.
He said Russian mining efforts for gold and other ores mean the country will be buying a lot of equipment from the United States and shipping much of it through the Port of Everett, which specializes in moving goods that don’t use containers and goods such as jet parts that use unusually sized ones.
Last week, the vessel Makiri Green was loading trucks, trailers and other transport equipment for sail to Vladivostok.
Wollobek and marine terminal manager Dave Madill said they expect the port’s shipping business to be up by at least 10 percent this year.
“I think it’s going to exceed that,” Wollobek said, noting that the weak dollar in the United States means that exports to other countries will be cheaper and more popular.
Heavy machinery destined for other countries has become increasingly popular. Last week the port had crane parts heading for India, a huge drilling rig waiting to be shipped to Indonesia and the trucks heading for Russia.
“We’re still building things in the U.S.,” Wollebek said.
In his economic forecast last week, Arun Raha, the state’s chief economist, said exports grew by 9.6 percent in the last quarter of 2010 and were expected to grow this year.
The reverse is true for imports, which are affected by the still-weak economy in the U.S. They fell by 12 percent statewide in the last three months of last year.
Wollobek noted that one of the port’s major imports, cement from Asia, is at a lull because the construction industry is hurting.
But another major import, jet parts, should increase this year and next as the Boeing Co. ramps up production of the 777 and prepares to start fulfilling a contract with the U.S. Air Force for 179 refueling tankers based on the 767 assembled in Everett.
The Port of Everett receives Boeing-bound jet parts from Japan for the 747, 767 and 777.
Wollobek noted that every tanker will require 16 oversized containers of parts from Japan moving through the port to Everett’s Boeing plant. That’s 2,864 containers for the initial contract with the Air Force.
The port has tried to create a niche for itself in handling such unusual cargo. It appears to be paying off, Wollobek said.
“We have the equipment and the people who know how to handle it,” he added.
In the coming years, the port is hoping to form a private partnership with a business to expand the port by building new terminals and adding equipment, but the economy will have to improve before that happens, Wollobek said, saying the plan is market driven and will require private investment.
He also said last week that the port may go back to what used to be its major business — exporting logs to Asia.
The port hasn’t shipped logs in several years, but he said it was getting ready for a shipment soon.
“We’re thinking about getting back into it,” he said. “There’s a good wood basket here (Pacific Northwest forests) and strong demand in Korea and China.”
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