Transportation has always been of vital importance
in the Yukon because of the small population, the harsh climate,
and the remoteness from large markets. It has imported almost
all of its industrial and consumer goods, supported by the
export of a limited tonnage of high value mineral concentrates.
Little growth has occurred in the past fifteen years in the
value of mineral production, as it has remained fairly constantly
at about $14 million.
At present, though, the Yukon is in a stage of transition
as many ore bodies are being brought into production.
The effect on the Yukon economy will be substantial, as one
estimate sees the dollar value of production increasing more
than three-fold by 1975.
The objective of this thesis is to determine the impact
of this economic change on the total transport system. It is
thus necessary to establish a measurement of the present level
of freight services (the year chosen is 1964) and to establish
a forecast of freight services for 1975. The measurement and
forecast are then used to determine in what way the economic
change may influence transport rates and services.
The main sources of information for this paper were
the various transportation and mining companies that are engaged
in Yukon activities. Considerable use was made of the 1966
Stanford Research Institute study that concerned itself with
the economics of paving the Alaska Highway. While many other
sources were also consulted, they were generally of lesser
importance.
The growth rate of goods going north into the Yukon
is forecast to be a moderate 5% per annum. The growth in the
amount of ore concentrates going out of the Yukon should be
considerably larger. For every ton moving north into the Yukon
in 1964, 1.5 tons of freight moved out of the area, while by
1975 the ratio should increase to 6.5 tons for every northbound
ton.
As the present and planned mining developments are
principally in the area north and northeast of Whitehorse where
the White Pass and Yukon Route has the competitive advantage,
most of the direct increase in freight traffic should benefit the
White Pass and Yukon Route. Other transport companies should
benefit also, but more due to indirect effects of the mining
developments on freight traffic.
The increase in the level of freight should make possible
a higher utilization of present facilities and lower average
costs. It appears that especially for the White Pass and Yukon
Route the potential for reductions in freight rates should
increase. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/42508 |
| Date | January 1968 |
| Creators | Freybe, Henning Carl Albert |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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