Interisland shipper Young Brothers saw its cargo volume fall by 1.1 percent for the three months ended Sept. 30, pulled down by dropoffs at all Neighbor Island ports, except for those on Maui and Lanai.
Maui's Kahului Harbor saw a 2 percent year-over-year gain in shipping volume for the third quarter. The port handled 10,781 containers, 201 more than the same quarter a year ago.
"As the largest Neighbor Island port, Maui's 2-percent growth has a significant impact on total cargo volumes," the company said in a statement.
Kaumalapau on Lanai saw a 34 percent increase in volume for the quarter, which Young Brothers mostly attributed the company's recent takeover of fuel shipments for the island. It also noted that Lanai has seen an increase in shipments of materials for building improvements and renovations.
Shipments between Honolulu and Kawaihae on the Big Island dropped by 8.2 percent for the quarter, while Molokai's Kaunakakai port saw volume decrease by nearly 7 percent.
Nawiliwili Harbor on Kauai reported a 2.5 percent year-over-year decrease, while shipments through Hilo dropped off by 1.2 percent for the quarter.
Year to date through September, overall cargo volume is flat.
"We saw a slight down-tick in the third quarter, but overall, cargo volumes were relatively stable," Young Brothers President Glenn Hong said in a statement. "Still, we're hoping to see our quarterly comparisons get back into positive territory as we round out the last quarter of 2012."
