Don't expect a glut of Christmas trees this year.

Suppliers say they are bringing in fewer or about the same number of trees into the state as last year.

Two of four shipments of Christmas trees have already arrived in the Islands, and Don Quijote was one of the first to put them on sale Saturday.

Christmas tree supplier Ipo Waiwaiole said people should not delay purchasing a tree until the week before Christmas because the supply is down.

"Don't wait," advised Waiwaiole, owner of Island Christmas Trees, which is set up next to Castle Medical Center in Kailua. "Get one in the first week of December. There's not that many trees around, so the prices are not going to drop."

Waiwaiole reduced his order by one container, or about 300 trees, this year because of higher shipping costs and the economic downturn.

The state Department of Agriculture, which inspects the containers for invasive species, also said it is expecting fewer Christmas tree containers this year.

"The inspector I spoke to last week said the anticipated number of containers is less," said Janelle Saneishi, spokeswoman for the Agriculture Department.

Some 40 containers arrived in the first shipment on Nov. 14. Information on how many containers landed on Saturday in a second shipment was not available.

The last two Matson shipments of Christmas trees will get to the Islands on Nov. 28 and Dec. 5.

The number of trees available can also be affected by the number of containers that are rejected and if those containers are replaced, Saneishi said. Two containers were rejected from the first shipment and sent back because they had slugs, Saneishi said.

Christmas tree grower Wayne Scrauch, of Bambi's Christmas Tree Land in Silverton, Ore., said he sent eight containers of Christmas trees to Honolulu to seasonal business operators, about the same as last year.

Scrauch said the cost of shipping is a concern.

"It cost over $20 apiece just for the freight to Hawai'i," he said. "It's real expensive. You don't sell one, you really lose money fast. The guys haven't done too good in the last couple of years, no matter if it's in Hawai'i or where it's at."

Bigger tree sellers such as Don Quijote and Kmart said they'll bring in about the same number of trees as last year and don't expect much of a change in consumer purchases.

"People are still going to buy trees for Christmas," said Gary Tang, assistant manager at the Käheka Street store.

Kmart stores will begin selling trees on Thanksgiving Day, said Tim Gerken, store manager at Kapolei. Gerken said the company ordered a few more trees than last year, but couldn't predict how well they will sell.

"It's one of those commodities that's hard to hit right every single year," Gerken said. "It goes in cycles here in Hawai'i."

Matson is bringing in four shipments of trees, with the biggest order arriving Saturday, said Gary Nakamatsu, vice president for Hawai'i sales.

The Manoa, the official Christmas tree ship, sailed the Pacific Northwest this past weekend and will stop in Oakland before heading to the Islands, Nakamatsu said.

"I'd say about 60 percent of the trees are on there in several hundred containers," he said. "The number ... is approximately the same as last year."

Yesterday, Michael Correa, 26, scoped out the trees at Don Quijote in Kailua.

He said he wasn't looking so much at the price as at the type of tree. His family had purchased Douglas fir, and he liked the looks of it and wanted to continue the tradition.

"I like to get a tree really early," Correa said. "I like the season and it makes the house smell really good."