Young Brothers Kahului Cargo Volumes Up Slightly

Young Brothers barge, file photo by Wendy Osher.

Young Brothers, Limited announced that intrastate cargo shipments between Honolulu and six neighbor island ports grew only 0.6% for the second quarter in a row, keeping volumes essentially flat in 2016 compared to the same period of 2015.

“While we remain hopeful for a stronger second half, two consecutive quarters of this weak growth in cargo volumes to and from the neighbor islands is consistent with our low volume projection for the year,” said Roy Catalani, vice president of Young Brothers.

The company previously reported that it anticipates only a 0.4%volume increase in intrastate cargo volumes for all of 2016.

For April through June of 2016, two neighbor island ports experienced gains in cargo volume: Kahului, the largest neighbor island port in terms of volume, was up 0.4% and Hilo, up 5.3%.

The remaining four neighbor island ports experienced a decrease in cargo volumes: Kawaihae, down 6.5%; Kaua‘i, down 3.1%; Moloka‘i, down 5.8%; and Lāna‘i, down 10.8%.

Automobile shipments were down in both the second quarter and the first six months of the year, primarily due to reduced volume from rental car agencies.

Volumes of recyclable material shipments continued to be weak, reflecting still depressed prices for recyclable materials. Air and ground transportation firms tendered more cargo for interisland shipment by barge.

Shipments of renewable energy and certain construction materials also grew in the second quarter compared to a year ago. However, shipments of construction equipment were down both in the second quarter and in the first half of the year.

Shipping volumes for the second quarter of 2016 and six-month period ending June 30, 2015 are shown by port in Appendix 1.

Agricultural Cargo Volume Down in Second Quarter of the Year

In the second quarter, intrastate shipments of locally-grown agricultural products decreased by 6.8% compared to the same period last year. Most ports with agricultural exports experienced declines.

Shipments from the Big Island were down a combined 12.7%, or 13.6% in Hilo and 10.7% in Kawaihae. Volumes were also lower 7.4% on Kaua‘i and 3.4% on O‘ahu. Kahului volumes increased 1.8%, and Moloka‘i was up 10 percent as compared to the same period last year.

Agricultural volume includes only cargo that qualifies for the company’s island agricultural product discount of 30 to 35%, which applies to locally grown agricultural products. Agricultural cargo volumes for the second quarter of 2016 and 2015 are shown by port of origin in Appendix 2.