Hawaii’s second-largest ocean cargo transportation company, Horizon Lines, pulled back into the black during the third quarter with help from higher shipping volume in Hawaii.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based company announced Monday that it earned $1.4 million in the three-month period ended Sept. 23, a major turnaround from a $111.7 million loss in the comparable period last year.

The positive earnings also followed two quarters of losses, each between $25 million and $30 million.

Horizon said improvements to shipping volume, fuel-cost recovery and container rates helped the company turn a profit in the third quarter.

Shipping volume rose 3.4 percent and was driven by added business in Hawaii and Alaska that offset volume weakness in Puerto Rico, the company said.

Horizon doesn’t break out volume by market segment, so no specific figures for Hawaii container shipments were available.

Revenue rose 4.5 percent to $279.6 million in the third quarter from $267.6 million a year earlier.

Horizon reports its earnings based on continuing operations, which means results from a trans-Pacific service from China that the company discontinued in the fourth quarter of 2011 are not included. Including the trans-Pacific service results, Horizon’s third-quarter income was $1.9 million compared with a $126.4 million loss a year earlier.