The $10 million Maunawili is Matson's newest container ship. It left yesterday on its inaugural voyage and service carrying cargo between Hawai'i and California.

The labor shortage has held up Matson ships at the Los Angeles and Long Beach docks and threatened to disrupt its Hawai'i schedule. So Matson is making extra calls at Neighbor Island ports using larger ships ordinarily committed to Honolulu-California service, and in July pulled the 33-year-old Lihue steamship off reserve status to also help offset the backlogs in California.

Jim Andrasick, Matson president and chief executive officer, said the company is absorbing the costs, and that customers have not felt the disruption because of the adjustments.

He added that Matson could put another idle reserve ship into service if needed, and that he suspects the labor shortage will worsen before it improves, despite an aggressive hiring effort.

"We have not seen the worst of it," he said. "We still can't see the light at the end of the tunnel."

The warning, made at Matson's annual media briefing yesterday, coincided with a gala event to send off the company's new $110 million Maunawili container vessel on its inaugural voyage and service between Hawai'i and California.

The Maunawili is the second half of a $220 million order for two diesel-powered container ships built at a Philadelphia shipyard. Twin sister ship Manukai went into service last October, replacing a 30-year-old steamship by the same name.

Andrasick said the two new ships were initially expected to be a break-even investment, but it now appears the savings from fuel, maintenance and other operating costs will provide a long-term financial benefit to the company.

The ongoing labor problem in California, however, has added 10 percent to Matson's operating costs, Andrasick said. The problem was spurred primarily by an unanticipated surge in cargo from China that started in June and overwhelmed Long Beach and Los Angeles ports.

Ships at the two ports can wait two to four days before longshore workers unload cargo, Andrasick said. Some 3,000 dockworkers are being hired, but only about 250 can be trained a week.

Andrasick, who stays in close touch with California longshore industry leaders, said a decrease in peak cargo volumes had been expected to occur by now, but they haven't. Now the holiday season is approaching, and there is no good estimate on when the labor shortage can be cleared.

"This is a serious problem," he said. "It's a day-by-day operational problem for us."

Matson's new ships won't necessarily have a direct impact on the prices that consumers pay for goods. But the vessels position Matson to better serve Hawai'i's growing economy, Andrasick said.

The company expects Hawai'i construction spending to increase 70 percent over the next decade, while the U.S. military spends $2.2 billion on building projects. Both will add to the demand for shipped construction materials.

"While the labor shortages in Southern California have posed service challenges for the past several months, Matson is otherwise very well positioned to meet the demands of a growing Hawai'i economy," Andrasick said.