Icons of Infrastructure features Ports of Tacoma, Seattle

The Partnership Of Seattle And Tacoma Ports  – Called The Northwest Seaport Alliance – Is Positioning Itself As A Major Trading Post On The West Coast.

By Gary Stern

Hyundai Brave berthed at Washington United Terminals.

Launched in 2105, the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) serves as a joint venture and partnership between the ports of Tacoma and Seattle. NWSA serves as the fourth largest gateway in North America. The partnership merges marketing opportunities and promotes infrastructure projects to benefit both ports.

Bruce Kendall, the CEO of the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce, said the alliance was responding to the reality of how most businesses viewed the area.

“The world sees the Puget Sound as a system and not individual ports.  You ship to the state of Washington, the Puget Sound, not specifically to Tacoma or Seattle, because that’s the modern world view of these two larger seaports,” he said.

Both ports are governed by five commissioners each, and elected officials had to cast aside the previous history of head-to-head competition, and learn to become in sync.

“The leadership decided to combine the container operations under this new entity, called the Northwest Seaport Alliance, to be responsive to the way the markets perceived us,” Kendall noted.

Continue reading the full article at http://iconsofinfrastructure.com/wind-in-the-sails-northwest-seaport-alliance-pumps-up-trade.