Earlier this month, Honolulu-based Matson Inc. announced a third quarter net income of $283.2 million, or $6.53 per diluted share, more than the $70.9 million, or $1.63 per diluted share, the company posted in the third quarter of 2020.
Matson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Matt Cox said the company saw strong economic and business trends in the second quarter carry into the third quarter, resulting in solid performance in ocean transportation and logistics.
“Within ocean transportation, our China service continued to see significant demand for its expedited ocean services, including the new CCX service, as volume for e-commerce, garments and other goods remained elevated heading into the peak season,” he said.
That demand primarily drove the increase in consolidated operating income year-over-year, Cox said.
“Currently, supply chain congestion continues in the Transpacific trade lane with the combination of ongoing elevated consumption trends, inventory restocking, and bottlenecks at critical points for both ocean and overland transportation,” he said, adding that Matson expects these conditions to remain largely in place through at least mid-2022.
In its domestic ocean trade lanes, Matson continued to see strong demand with higher year-over-year volumes compared to Q3 2020 with its largely pandemic-reduced volumes, data show.
“In Hawaii, we experienced elevated westbound freight demand as the state’s tourism and economy continued to rebound sharply from the pandemic lows, although towards the end of the quarter we experienced a modest negative impact in freight related to the state’s efforts to address the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant,” he explained.
In logistics, operating income rose year-over-year compared to a year ago as Matson saw ongoing heightened goods consumption, inventory restocking and favorable supply and demand fundamentals in its core markets, Cox said.
