7IM Short Thoughts: More than one way to see the world

Do you think about Alaska a lot? Maybe you should. Alaska is massive. It's bigger than France, Germany, Spain, and Portugal all put together. But only about 700,000 people live there. Less than Leeds or Bristol. So it's no surprise that the airport of Alaska, when it comes to passengers, doesn't do very much business. About 5 million people a year. Heathrow, for contrast, does 5 million people a month through the airport.

So why, then, is the third-biggest cargo airport in the world in Alaska? Well, it's all to do with perspective. Think about Alaska on a map. Way out there on the left. But now change your view. Change your way of thinking because the world is round. Sorry, flat Earthers. When you look top down at the world, you can see that Alaska is slap bang in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere. Nine hour flight from every major industrial city.

So with international logistics, as with investing, perspective is everything.