Young Brothers sees uptick in isle shipments

Hawaii’s largest interisland cargo carrier has encountered what it hopes is the first ripple of a rebound in goods it transports between islands.

Young Brothers Ltd. reported a 0.8 percent rise in business during the second quarter that ended three consecutive quarters of small yet disappointing declines in cargo volume between Honolulu and six neighbor island ports.

The gain followed drops of 1.9 percent in the first quarter, 0.2 percent in last year’s fourth quarter and 2.1 percent in last year’s third quarter.

Roy Catalani, vice president at Young Brothers, wasn’t ready to proclaim a rebound as being underway, but said in a statement that the company was encouraged by a strong pickup in cargo during June that offset weakness that had persisted into April and May.

“We’re hopeful the June numbers will be at the leading edge of a trend that will carry into the summer and through the remainder of 2015,” he said.

The 0.8 percent increase in the second quarter represented 248 more container/platform equivalents, or CPEs, carried on Young Brothers barges. The company carried 32,994 CPEs in the second quarter, up from 32,746 in the same quarter last year.

The second-quarter increase offset much of the first-quarter decline, resulting in volume for the first half of this year being down 0.5 percent.

Business at Young Brothers is sometimes taken as a rough barometer of neighbor island economic growth given that the company handles a large portion of goods used for services or consumed on Hawaii island, Maui, Molokai, Kauai and Lanai. However, the cargo volume declines in recent quarters have been influenced by some extraordinary events, including a dramatic increase in construction material shipments to Lanai more than a year ago and the loss of a major unidentified customer in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Young Brothers said, construction activity helped produce an increase in business, including equipment and recycled material shipments. The company also said it had more business from rental car companies that shifted automobile fleets to accommodate big special events such as the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo and a Lions Club International convention in Honolulu.

Some areas of business that declined in the second quarter were new automobile, agriculture and energy industry shipments, Young Brothers reported.

By island, cargo volume rose at four of six neighbor island ports. The biggest gain on a percentage basis was at Kawaihae on Hawaii island, where there was an 11.9 percent rise in CPEs to 5,929 from 5,297.

The busiest port, Kahului, saw a 1.1 percent gain in CPEs to 11,966 from 11,836.

Gains also occurred at Nawiliwili on Kauai (3.5 percent to 6,891 from 6,659) and at Kaunakakai on Molokai (1.9 percent to 1,616 from 1,586).

Volume declined at Hilo harbor on Hawaii island by 2.8 percent to 8,188 CPEs from 8,425, and at Kaumalapau on Lanai by 26.1 percent to 1,218 from 1,650.

The decline on Lanai reflects a surge of construction equipment and materials brought to the island last year by the island’s billionaire owner, Larry Ellison, who began renovating attractions including the Manele Bay hotel, one golf course, a movie theater, storefronts in Lanai City and a community recreation center.