Alaska Air Forwarding: Keeping Up with Industry Changes

Alaska Air Forwarding has been part of the Seattle landscape since 1965 when Wayne Hendricks started a buying service to Alaska fishermen. This business proved to be successful and also paved the way for our current business model that has been a constant in the shipping industry for more than four decades. Reliability is only part of our success however, another aspect of our success has been our ability to adapt and keep up with changes in our industry as well.

One of the more recent and significant changes is the new regulation implemented by the Port of Seattle requiring that drayage trucks that typically access Seattle container terminals must now have engines that are model-year 2007 or newer. This regulation takes effect January 1, 2018 and is designed to be more in-line with federal emissions standards. This required Alaska Air Forwarding to acquire a new truck that meets these standards.

In addition to this change, there will also be new regulations implemented requiring certain identification credentials for drivers along with specific Tags that are required to be on all trucks entering the Port of Seattle terminal. There is also a new list of information that is required for all delivery and pick-up of cargo in the Port of Seattle terminals.

While new regulations do require a significant expense for shipping companies, the reason for these regulations is the safety and protection of all involved. In today’s world, we do need to take extra precautions particularly in the transfer of goods from port to port.

Our ability to quickly adapt to industry changes is just one of the many reasons that Alaska Air Forwarding has been a reliable and successful freight forwarder in Seattle for nearly 50 years.