HONOLULU--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Young Brothers, Limited announced today that its 2013 intra-state cargo shipments between Honolulu and six neighbor island ports rose by 1.5 percent when compared to 2012 shipments. In addition, comparing fourth quarter performances, cargo volume grew by 0.6 percent in 2013 over 2012.
“We turned the corner in 2013, but we still have a long way to go relative to the boom period we experienced during the middle of last decade,” said Glenn Hong, president of Young Brothers. “Cargo volumes started coming back in the second quarter last year and maintained relative strength to finish 2013 with some growth. We recognize that various economic reports have been mixed of late but we’re hopeful that there is enough fuel in the economy to continue to drive increasing cargo volumes in 2014. ”
For 2012, Young Brothers had reported flat year-end results after a year of volatile quarterly cargo volumes. In the second quarter of 2013, Young Brothers began its current string of three consecutive quarters of positive cargo volume results: 4.4 percent in the second quarter, 5.2 percent in the third quarter, finishing with 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter.
For the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2013, all but one of the neighbor island ports experienced an increase in cargo shipments: volume at Kahului, Maui increased by 1.0 percent; Hilo, by 2.1 percent; Nawiliwili, Kauai, by 4.5 percent; Kaunakakai, Molokai, by 7.2 percent; and Kaumalapau, Lanai, the smallest port in terms of volume, by 20.7 percent. Cargo volume dropped 4.7 percent at the Big Island port of Kawaihae.
Similarly, during the fourth quarter of 2013, the same five ports experienced cargo increases while volume fell at Kawaihae: Kahului volume rose by 1.0 percent; Hilo, by 3.2 percent; Nawiliwili, by 1.5 percent; Kaunakakai, by 11.5 percent; and Kaumalapau, by 21.5 percent. Kawaihae volume dropped 8.5 percent for the quarter.
Most industry groups finished 2013 with increases in volume relative to one year ago. Construction materials, manufacturing (non-food), and renewable energy experienced strong gains. Other categories with solid volume increases include agriculture services, auto rentals, recycling/waste, and food service. Declines were seen in a few categories, including the federal government.
Shipping volumes for the fourth quarter and 12-month period are shown by port in Appendix 1.
Agricultural Shipments Increase 4.2 Percent for the Year, Flat in Fourth Quarter
Agricultural cargo volume continued to grow in 2013, rising by 4.2 percent, albeit at a more moderate pace than last year. For 2012, Young Brothers had reported an 11.6-percent increase. For the fourth quarter of 2013, agricultural cargo volume was basically flat, dropping 0.4 percent compared to the same period in 2012.
“Agricultural volume growth slowed in 2013 but still finished four points over last year, so it appears that demand for fresh produce remains strong,” Hong said.
For the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2013, four ports increased agricultural exports: Kahului, by 9.4 percent; Kaunakakai, by 7.7 percent; Honolulu, by 5.7 percent; and Hilo, by 5.3 percent. Agricultural cargo from Nawiliwili fell by 16.5 percent, and from Kawaihae, by 7.2 percent.
During the 2013 fourth quarter, agricultural cargo exports declined at four of the six ports: Kahului, down 5.5 percent; Honolulu, down 4.1 percent; Kawaihae, down 2.9 percent; and Nawiliwili, down 1.1 percent. Conversely, agricultural cargo from Kaunakakai jumped 14.3 percent, while Hilo exports grew by 2.2 percent compared to the year-ago quarter.
Agricultural volume includes only cargo that qualifies for the company’s island product discount of 30 to 35 percent. The discount applies only to locally grown agricultural products. Agricultural cargo volumes for the fourth quarter and 12-month period are shown by port of origin in Appendix 2.
About the Young Brothers Quarterly Shipping Report
Young Brothers’ quarterly intra-state shipping volumes reflect only cargo shipments that originate and terminate within Hawaii. The Young Brothers Quarterly Shipping Report was initiated in 2012. The company will release its first quarter 2014 results in May 2014.
Young Brothers, Limited, with approximately 340 employees across the state, has served Hawaii since 1900. Young Brothers is a publicly regulated water carrier providing 12 weekly port calls from Honolulu to the State’s neighbor island ports, including Hilo, Kawaihae, Kahului, Kaumalapau, Kaunakakai and Nawiliwili. For more information, visit www.youngbrothershawaii.com.
| Appendix 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Young Brothers, Limited | |||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbor Island Intrastate Cargo Volume – Fourth Quarter 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Container/Platform Equivalents (CPEs) Between Honolulu and Neighbor Island Ports |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Percent | 12 months | 12 months | Percent | ||||||||||||||||
| Q4 2013 | Q4 2012 | Change | ended Dec. 31, |
ended Dec. 31, |
Change | ||||||||||||||
| 2013 |
2012 |
||||||||||||||||||
| All Ports | 32,084 | 31,906 | 0.6% | 130,969 | 129,047 |
1.5% |
|||||||||||||
| Kahului, Maui | 11,991 | 11,868 | 1.0% | 48,118 | 47,621 | 1.0% | |||||||||||||
| Inbound | 9,272 | 9,140 | 1.4% | 35,457 | 35,436 | 0.1% | |||||||||||||
| Outbound | 2,720 | 2,728 | (0.3%) | 12,660 | 12,185 | 3.9% | |||||||||||||
| Hilo, Hawaii | 8,079 | 7,826 | 3.2% | 32,746 | 32,086 | 2.1% | |||||||||||||
| Inbound | 5,634 | 5,317 | 6.0% | 22,608 | 21,842 | 3.5% | |||||||||||||
| Outbound | 2,445 | 2,510 | (2.6%) | 10,138 | 10,245 | (1.0%) | |||||||||||||
| Kawaihae, Hawaii | 4,990 | 5,454 | (8.5%) | 20,652 | 21,669 | (4.7%) | |||||||||||||
| Inbound | 3,542 | 3,881 | (8.8%) | 14,786 | 15,276 | (3.2%) | |||||||||||||
| Outbound | 1,449 | 1,573 | (7.9%) | 5,866 | 6,392 | (8.2%) | |||||||||||||
| Nawiliwili, Kauai | 6,503 | 6,409 | 1.5% | 28,239 | 27,024 | 4.5% | |||||||||||||
| Inbound | 5,084 | 5,226 | (2.7%) | 21,934 | 21,132 | 3.8% | |||||||||||||
| Outbound | 1,418 | 1,184 | 19.8% | 6,305 | 5,892 | 7.0% | |||||||||||||
| Kaunakakai, Molokai | 1,696 | 1,521 | 11.5% | 6,465 | 6,033 | 7.2% | |||||||||||||
| Inbound | 1,208 | 1,167 | 3.5% | 4,647 | 4,498 | 3.3% | |||||||||||||
| Outbound | 488 | 354 | 37.9% | 1,818 | 1,535 | 18.4% | |||||||||||||
| Kaumalapau, Lanai | 1,290 | 1,061 | 21.5% | 4,498 | 3,727 | 20.7% | |||||||||||||
| Inbound | 1,112 | 920 | 20.9% | 3,744 | 3,047 | 22.9% | |||||||||||||
|
Outbound |
178 | 142 | 25.3% | 754 | 681 | 10.8% | |||||||||||||
NOTE: The “All Ports” category reflects every unique cargo item transported by Young Brothers. In contrast, the sum of individual ports is greater than the amount of unique shipments in the “All Ports” total. This is because transshipment cargo volumes (i.e., cargo that originates on a neighbor island, is transshipped at YB’s Honolulu hub and terminates at another neighbor island port) are attributed to the neighbor island origin port as “outbound” cargo and the neighbor island destination port as “inbound” cargo. Transshipped cargo makes up a relatively small percentage of total cargo volume.
| Appendix 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Young Brothers, Limited | |||||||||||||||||||
| Agricultural Cargo Volume by Island and Port – Fourth Quarter 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Outbound Agricultural Cargo (CPEs) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Q4 2013 | Q4 2012 | Percent |
12 months |
12 months | Percent | ||||||||||||||
| Change |
ended Dec. 31, |
ended Dec. 31, |
Change | ||||||||||||||||
|
2013 |
2012 |
||||||||||||||||||
| All Islands | 1,904 | 1,910 | (0.4%) | 7,495 | 7,193 | 4.2% | |||||||||||||
| Oahu (Honolulu) | 364 | 379 | (4.1%) | 1,526 | 1,443 | 5.7% | |||||||||||||
| Maui (Kahului) | 326 | 345 | (5.5%) | 1,294 | 1,183 | 9.4% | |||||||||||||
| Hawaii Island | 1,055 | 1,042 | 1.3% | 4,036 | 3,927 | 2.8% | |||||||||||||
| Hilo | 873 | 855 | 2.2% | 3,300 | 3,134 | 5.3% | |||||||||||||
| Kawaihae | 182 | 187 | (2.9%) | 737 | 793 | (7.2%) | |||||||||||||
| Kauai (Nawiliwili) | 39 | 39 | (1.1%) | 171 | 205 | (16.5%) | |||||||||||||
| Molokai (Kaunakakai) | 120 | 105 | 14.3% | 467 | 433 | 7.7% | |||||||||||||
| Lanai (Kaumalapau) | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0 | 0 | N/A | |||||||||||||
NOTE: Agricultural cargo volumes represent all regulated Young Brothers cargo which qualified for the 30% to 35% “Island Product” discount. In contrast to total cargo volumes in Appendix 1, agricultural cargo volumes are categorized only by the port from which they originated, meaning the island on which the agricultural product was grown.
Note regarding CPE unit of measurement: Young Brothers measures its cargo in units called “container/platform equivalents” (CPE), which allow a comparison of cargo volumes across different sizes of containers and other non-standardized cargo types. CPEs are rounded to the nearest unit; percentage change is based on actual (non-rounded) CPEs.