LIHUE — A Young Brothers, Limited quarterly report released Thursday shows a mixture of gains and shortfalls in intrastate cargo shipments as Kauai continues to rebound from an economic recession. The report from the Honolulu-based cargo shipping company revealed that
LIHUE — A Young Brothers, Limited quarterly report released Thursday shows a mixture of gains and shortfalls in intrastate cargo shipments as Kauai continues to rebound from an economic recession.
The report from the Honolulu-based cargo shipping company revealed that overall interisland cargo shipments between Nawiliwili Harbor and Honolulu increased by 3.1 percent during the first quarter of this year.
In all, cargo container imports to Nawiliwili Harbor increased by 5.2 percent from the fourth quarter of last year, while exports fell by 4.7 percent.
The company as a whole, according to the report, posted a 3.9 percent decline in intrastate cargo shipments between Honolulu and its six neighbor island ports.
Young Brothers President Glenn Hong said in a May 23 prepared statement that this past quarter reflects a sideways trend — one marked by “a slight up quarter, followed by a dip” — that the company has seen in recent years.
“It’s disappointing to start the year with a decline,” Hong said. “Nevertheless, it’s a continuation of the volatility we’ve experienced in quarterly comparisons of intrastate cargo volumes over the last few years. We believe that some local businesses, particularly those on the neighbor islands, are still being very cautious.”
Roy Catalani, the company’s strategic planning and government affairs vice president, attributed strong neighbor island tourist numbers to a surge in food commodity-related shipments at the end of the quarter.
He said, however, that falling cargo volumes from local recycling companies and the federal government, including the U.S. Postal Service, likely caused a drop in overall state shipment numbers.
“In Kauai, the numbers were relatively strong for the fourth quarter … and I think that’s largely a result from Kauai numbers not being largely affected by the decrease in the recyclable numbers or the overall post office numbers,” Catalani said. “Historically, our cargo volumes most closely tie into overall neighbor island employment, construction activity and visitor days.”
These emerging strengths, he said, are particularly encouraging and are key economic indicators that the company will continue to monitor.
“I think that as the year goes on and trends become more clear … we’ll be watching that along with everyone else,” Catalani said.
