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Business Briefs

Guy Quenneville
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

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Truck sales steady

Declining consumer interest in pickup trucks and SUVs - as evidenced by General Motors' recent announcement that it will severely cut back on production of those vehicles, ceasing production at four North American plants - is not being reflected in Yellowknife, according to one local car dealer.

Tony Bane, owner of YK Motors, said he hasn't noticed the trend in town.

"I have not seen a decline in Yellowknife," he said.

Hard choice

Choice Video, which has been located in the Panda II mall beside Ryan's Restaurant for 16 years, will change locations this September, said owner Iris Wagner.

The store will relocate to the Panda II mall space beside Northern Souvenirs and Gifts.

"It will be a little squishy, but we'll just have to get through it," said Wagner.

Space in the current store has been expanded with the elimination of one set of racks, with TV shows on DVD now gracing the back wall of the store.

Diavik spending goes up

Diavik Diamond Mine has hired more people and spent more money than it had originally planned for, according to its latest newsletter.

By 2007, the mine's operations workforce averaged 785. The original planned workforce was 450. Of the total workforce, 524 were northern.

Spending also exceeded expectations.

Original estimates for annual spending were pegged at $100 million, but in 2007, Diavik spent a lot more - $727 million, of which $521 went to northern companies.

Aircraft movements

There were a total of 5,950 aircraft movements in April at Yellowknife Airport, according to new statistics from Nav Canada.

Of that total, 4,472 of the movements were itinerant and 1,478 local.

By comparison, a total of 2,830 aircraft movements took place from the Whitehorse International Airport.