Study: Port Development Could Mean 5,000 Jobs

By Mark Edward Nero

On Jan. 11, the Port of Prince Rupert released a study projecting that when fully realized, its development plan could generate almost 5,000 new jobs in northern British Columbia directly related to port activity.

Using a model derived from project proposals and land use plans, the forecast quantifies the potential growth of the port’s economic impact through 2025 and beyond. The model makes assumptions for capital investments, average employment levels and wages.

The full buildout of the Port of Prince Rupert’s planned infrastructure and terminals is predicted potentially to generate incremental economic impacts, including:

• An increase of 4,780 full-time equivalent jobs directly related to port activity.
• $310 million annually in additional wages.
• $59 million annually in additional local municipal taxes for the City of Prince Rupert and the District of Port Edward.
• $400 million annually in additional Gross Domestic Product for Canada.

In addition to the economic benefits of planned infrastructure and terminals, construction could provide as many as 26,000 person-years of employment, $1.7 billion in wages and more than $2 billion in GDP, according to the study.

The Port of Prince Rupert’s development plan promotes the port’s growth into a diversified and sustainable global trade gateway in a manner that would minimize operations congestion, limit community conflict with industrial land use, and mitigate marine and environmental impacts.

Current and proposed developments on port lands at Fairview Container Terminal, the Ridley Island Industrial Site and Lelu Island have the potential to create an integrated platform for shipping with the capacity to transport over 100 million tons of cargo annually, according to the port.

“The vision of Prince Rupert as a leading North American trade gateway builds on our strengths and our track record,” said Don Krusel, President & CEO of the Port of Prince Rupert. “The question is, can we achieve it? We believe we can.”

Maritime Economic Impact Study

Three Seattle and King County organizations have released an economic impact study on the effect of the maritime industry on the State of Washington. The Washington State Maritime Cluster Economic Impact Study sought to quantify the impact of the maritime industry in order to better understand and strengthen its contributions to the regional economy.

The study was commissioned by the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County, the Puget Sound Regional Council and the Workforce Development Council of Seattle and King County, with input from a broad spectrum of maritime industrial businesses – including Philips Publishing Group. The study looks at the direct and indirect impacts the maritime industry has on the local and regional economy.

According to the study, Washington’s maritime cluster employed more than 57,700 people directly in the state last year, and was responsible for $15.2 billion in gross business income. Indirect and induced Maritime jobs account for another 90,000 jobs, for a total impact of 148,000 Washington jobs. The direct contribution of the industry's $15.2 billion in gross business income generates another $14.8 billion in induced and indirect output, for a total contribution effect of nearly $30 billion to Washington’s economy.

Below are some of the study’s other findings. The maritime industry paid nearly $4 billion in wages in 2012 with average salaries of $70,800. In comparison, the state’s median wage is $51,000.

Every direct job in the maritime industry supports 1.6 jobs elsewhere in the economy. And for every $1 million in sales, another 10 jobs are supported elsewhere in the economy.

Industry-wide, revenues have grown 6.4% per year on average with the largest growth rate in Maritime Logistics and Shipping, at a robust 10.2%.

Go to http://www.EDC-SeaKing.org/maritime-study to download the report.

Phillips to Retire as Head of Southwest Washington Business Recruitment Group

The long-time president of the Columbia River Economic Development Council has announced that he will retire from the business recruitment non-profit effective May 21.

Bart Phillips, hired as CREDC president in 2000, tendered his resignation at a Monday morning meeting of CREDC's board of directors.

CREDC, which is funded through member dues and government grants and made up of 130 members governed by a 41-member board of directors, has come under recent fire by the Washington-state Port of Vancouver and Clark County officials for the group's perceived lackluster performance in luring new businesses to Southwest Washington state.

The CREDC board said it will begin a search for a new president, a position that was earning Phillips $150,000 a year. In the interim, Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council executive director Lisa Nisenfeld will handle the day-to-day operations of CREDC.

Last November, the governing board for the Vancouver port cut 25 percent of its annual financial support for CREDC citing disappointment with the non-profit's recent inability to create local jobs.

The port move comes after a similar shellacking of CREDC's efforts by the Clark County Board of Commissioners around the same time. The county board criticized the non-profit for a lack of communication with area partners and failing to support local companies.

CREDC describes its mission as promoting "job creation and investment while maintaining the county's exceptional environment and high quality of life." Clark County currently faces an unemployment rate over 12 percent.

Port commission President Jerry Oliver told The Columbian in November 2010 that a year prior CREDC had promised 12 leads to businesses that could benefit the port by expanding or relocating. Oliver said that not one lead that met the criteria materialized.

While the port board split 2-1 in its vote to reduce funding to CREDC, the lone dissenter Oliver stated that he actually wanted more drastic cuts to port funding for the group. Following the approval of the $10,000 cut to CREDC funding by the port, the commissioners signaled that further cuts could be expected if CREDC did not address the port's concerns by June of this year.

Vancouver USA Port Slashes Funding for Economic Development Group by 25%

The governing board for the Washington-state Port of Vancouver voted Tuesday to cut 25 percent of its annual financial support for the Columbia River Economic Development Council, citing disappointment with the non-profit's ability to create local jobs.

The port move comes after a similar shellacking of CREDC's efforts by the Clark County Board of Commissioners. The county board recently criticized the non-profit, which is funded by private and public monies, for a lack of communication with area partners and failing to support local companies.

CREDC describes its mission as promoting "job creation and investment while maintaining the county's exceptional environment and high quality of life." Clark County currently faces an unemployment rate over 12 percent.

Port commission President Jerry Oliver told The Columbian that a year ago CREDC had promised 12 leads to businesses that could benefit the port by expanding or relocating. Oliver said that not one lead that met the criteria materialized.

The port board split 2-1 in its vote to reduce funding to CREDC, however in casting his dissenting vote, Oliver stated that he actually wanted more drastic cuts to port funding for the group. The vote will see the port's contribution to CREDC fall from $40,000 in 2011 to $30,000. Oliver wanted the port's contribution cut to $10,000.

Following the vote, the commissioners signaled that further cuts could be expected if CREDC does not address the port's concerns by June.