Backlog delays holiday shipments
By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer
There's still a hangover from last year's West Coast docks lockout judging by holiday-season shipping delays, shippers and wholesalers said this week.
Officials with both of Hawai'i's major cargo lines, Matson and CSX, say their container ships are still arriving in Honolulu a day or more later than scheduled.
"Our schedules are not quite back to normal," said Jeff Brennan, Honolulu port manager for CSX, which runs two weekly cargo ships between Hawai'i and the Mainland. "It does take a while to recover from an absolute work stoppage."
The shipping companies' schedules were thrown into disarray after West Coast ports were idled for 10 days in September and October because of a breakdown in negotiations between port owners and dockworkers. The Pacific Maritime Association locked workers out of the ports on Sept. 29, saying it was moving to prevent a slowdown or strike by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
The ports reopened on Oct. 9, but the buildup of unloaded cargo caused a maritime traffic jam, in which most boats had to wait days to get into port. The congestion is estimated to have caused billions of dollars in economic damage.
Matson and CSX temporarily added ships to their Hawai'i routes, and officials with both companies said they will be back on schedule by mid-January.
"There is still some backlog, but most of the issues have cleared up," said Jeff Hull, a spokesman for Matson, which runs four ships weekly between Hawai'i and Mainland ports.
But the delays were exacerbated over the holidays, as vacations by Hawai'i dockworkers meant smaller crews to unload the boats, Matson and CSX officials said. At least one Matson ship had to remain at sea for several extra days as it waited for docking space.
Hull said Matson apologizes for any inconvenience caused to customers.
For some businesses, the delays proved costly.
Agricultural wholesale company Armstrong Produce, which supplies fresh fruit and vegetables to local restaurants and hotels, had a New Year's shipment of eight containers of lettuce, broccoli and other perishable goods stuck at sea.
Facing angry customers wondering about the delays, Armstrong had to fly in about 50 tons of produce, company vice president Kelvin Shigemura said. Armstrong will absorb some of the cost of the sea shipment, which arrived after New Year's, Shigemura said — but will probably pass some of the air-cargo expenses on in the form of higher prices, he said.
"This is one of our biggest weeks — the restaurants are full, the hotels are booked, everyone's busy," Shigemura said. "We've been trying to react by flying stuff in, but it's been very very costly."
Y. Fukunaga Products, another Honolulu wholesaler, also had a shipment of vegetables and fruits stuck on that boat. Company president Neal Otani hopes the food is still fresh when it finally gets to his warehouse.
"We'll probably open up these containers," Otani said, "and see lots of problems."
Reach John Duchemin at jduchemin@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8062.
