Cargo shipments between Honolulu and six neighbor island ports rose 2.6 percent in the first three months of 2012 from the same period a year earlier, according to a report released Wednesday by Young Brothers Ltd., the state’s main interisland shipping company.

The increase in shipping volumes is a welcome sign given that economic recovery on the neighbor islands has lagged behind that of Oahu, said Glenn Hong, president of Young Bros. But more data will be needed to see whether a trend is under way, he added.

"The first quarter volume gain is modest, so it is still a little early to tell whether neighbor island economies collectively have begun to climb out of the bottom of the recession," Hong said.

"Although residents and businesses in Hawaii continue to manage through a difficult economic environment, given what’s transpired in the past few years, it’s encouraging to see even a modest increase in neighbor island economic activity and the associated intrastate cargo volumes. Of course, intrastate cargo volume is only one barometer of neighbor island economies," Hong said.

He also noted that the 2012 figures are being compared with the first quarter of 2011, when shipping volumes were at their lowest level after the 2008-2009 recession. Hong added that current interisland shipping volumes are still about 20 percent below pre-recession levels in 2007.

The cargo data were included in the inaugural issue of the Young Brothers Quarterly Shipping report. The report tracks cargo volumes using a standard unit of measurement called "container/platform equivalents." The CPE measurement is used by shippers to allow them to compare cargo volumes across different sizes of containers.

For the January-through-March period the volume of cargo from Honolulu to six neighbor island ports totaled 32,618 CPEs, up 2.6 percent from 31,786 CPEs in the first quarter of 2011.

Kahului experienced the largest increase in volume with shipments rising by 6.3 percent on a year-over-year basis. Shipments rose by 5.3 percent to Lanai, by 4.3 percent to Hilo, and by 2.4 percent to Kawaihae. Shipments fell by 9.5 percent to Molokai and by 2.5 percent to Kauai.

The cargo volumes included in the report are for both inbound and outbound shipments.

Hong said company officials were "heartened to see" that shipments of local produce grew at a faster rate than overall cargo volumes. Shipments of locally produced agricultural products, which are given a 30 percent to 35 percent discount, rose by 16.2 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier.

"We believe that growth in our state’s agriculture sector is crucial for Hawaii," he said.