Kauai cargo volume declines

LIHUE — Intrastate cargo shipments between Honolulu and six Neighbor Island ports decreased by 1.9 percent in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period of 2014, according to the Young Brothers Quarterly Shipping Report.

“The first quarter results continued the trend in a narrow range on either side of even,” said Roy Catalani, vice president of Young Brothers.

In the first quarter of 2014, Young Brothers showed an overall increase in cargo volume of 4 percent. But since then, volume has stayed in a fairly narrow range between 0.5 percent and minus 2 percent.

Five Neighbor Island ports experienced a decline in cargo volume in the first quarter of 2015 when compared to the same period last year: Maui, down 4.1 percent; Hilo, down 2.9 percent; Kauai, down 4.8 percent; Molokai, down 1.6 percent; and Lanai, down 17.4 percent. Kawaihae is the only port where cargo volume increased in the first quarter, climbing 10.5 percent.

During the first quarter, local agricultural cargo volume rose 2.9 percent over the same period last year. This follows a modest decrease in the fourth quarter of 2014, when agricultural shipments slipped 0.8 percent.

Agricultural cargo exports increased at two of the six ports during the quarter: Kawaihae, up 36.9 percent, and Honolulu, up 30.9 percent. The remaining four ports experienced declines in agricultural volume: Maui, down 6.2 percent; Hilo, 14.5 percent; Kauai, 4.9 percent; and Molokai, 0.9 percent. Lanai does not currently export agricultural cargo.