Matson, Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Matt Cox announced Jan. 19 that the Honolulu-based company finished 2021 strong as improving economic and business market trends continue to drive solid performance in Matson’s ocean transportation and logistics lines.
“Within Ocean Transportation, our China service continued to see significant demand for its expedited ocean services as volume for e-commerce, garments and other goods remained elevated,” Cox said, adding that the China service was the primary driver for the company’s consolidated operating income year over year.
Supply chain congestion brought on by heightened consumer demand continues to make an impact in the Transpacific trade lane, resulting in more demand for the company’s China service, according to Matson.
“For 2022, we expect these conditions to remain largely in place through at least the October peak season and expect elevated demand for our China service for most of the year,” he said.
Meanwhile, Matson’s domestic ocean trade lanes business has seen an uptick from a year ago.
“In Hawaii, we experienced elevated westbound freight demand as the state’s tourism and economy continued to rebound from the pandemic lows and the slowdown in tourism at the beginning of the quarter as a result of the state’s efforts to address the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant,” Cox explained.
