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Maui congestion may ripple across state
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| Although Young Brothers president Glenn Hong says the interisland shipper’s operations in Nawiliwili are as yet unaffected by the Hawaii Superferry’s plans, congestion at Maui’s Kahului Harbor could send a ripple ripple through the state, forcing customers to utilize freight consolidators to ship less-than-container loads. The shop is located next to Foodland in Waipouli. Contributed photo |
By Lester Chang
THE GARDEN ISLAND
Young Brothers’ request to the state Public Utilities Commission to end “less-than-container load” service at Kahului Harbor in Maui to make way for the Hawaii Superferry could affect Nawiliwili Harbor one day, the president of the interisland shipping service said.
With the loss of that service, small businesses and residents won’t be able to drive to the Maui harbor to pick up their goods, and will have to rely on the services of freight consolidators, driving up shipping costs, Young Brothers president Glenn Hong said.
“I would say the impact is marginal to Kaua‘i right now, but at some point what is happening to Maui will probably occur on Kauai,” He said. “But it gives us more time to think and plan and look for solutions.”
Kaua‘i residents would only be affected by the termination of the services at Kahului if they ship loose items to Maui.
Kaua‘i Sen. Gary Hooser has said he wants to keep shipping costs down for residents and will be monitoring the situation.
Because Superferry operations will eat up 23 percent of Young Brothers’ storage space at Kahului Harbor, Young Brothers has asked the PUC to grant its request to end the smaller load service in January.
Freight consolidators would pick up the containers, bring them to off-site storage areas located away from the harbor and distribute the cargo from there.
The freight consolidators would tack on additional shipping costs to small businesses and people who pick up goods from them. The additional shipping costs would probably be high initially, but competition would probably drive down the cost over time.
The space problems Young Brothers faces at Kahului Harbor, Honolulu Harbor and on the Big Island don’t apply at Nawiliwili, because the Kaua‘i harbor currently has adequate storage space. However, the future may hold the same congestion here that the rest of the state faces now.
While diminishing space acutely affects the Maui port, “the rest of the state harbors face severe congestion in our facilities today,” as well, Hong said in an e-mail.
The company facilities in Honolulu are “well beyond capacity, and its operations will need to change within a couple of years,” Hong said. “Without this change, YB will not be able to manage the growth of cargo in the future,” Hong said.
• Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@kauaipubco.com.
Young Brothers’ request to the state Public Utilities Commission to end “less-than-container load” service at Kahului Harbor in Maui to make way for the Hawaii Superferry could affect Nawiliwili Harbor one day, the president of the interisland shipping service said.
With the loss of that service, small businesses and residents won’t be able to drive to the Maui harbor to pick up their goods, and will have to rely on the services of freight consolidators, driving up shipping costs, Young Brothers president Glenn Hong said.
“I would say the impact is marginal to Kaua‘i right now, but at some point what is happening to Maui will probably occur on Kauai,” He said. “But it gives us more time to think and plan and look for solutions.”
Kaua‘i residents would only be affected by the termination of the services at Kahului if they ship loose items to Maui.
Kaua‘i Sen. Gary Hooser has said he wants to keep shipping costs down for residents and will be monitoring the situation.
Because Superferry operations will eat up 23 percent of Young Brothers’ storage space at Kahului Harbor, Young Brothers has asked the PUC to grant its request to end the smaller load service in January.
Freight consolidators would pick up the containers, bring them to off-site storage areas located away from the harbor and distribute the cargo from there.
The freight consolidators would tack on additional shipping costs to small businesses and people who pick up goods from them. The additional shipping costs would probably be high initially, but competition would probably drive down the cost over time.
The space problems Young Brothers faces at Kahului Harbor, Honolulu Harbor and on the Big Island don’t apply at Nawiliwili, because the Kaua‘i harbor currently has adequate storage space. However, the future may hold the same congestion here that the rest of the state faces now.
While diminishing space acutely affects the Maui port, “the rest of the state harbors face severe congestion in our facilities today,” as well, Hong said in an e-mail.
The company facilities in Honolulu are “well beyond capacity, and its operations will need to change within a couple of years,” Hong said. “Without this change, YB will not be able to manage the growth of cargo in the future,” Hong said.
• Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@kauaipubco.com.
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earthlore wrote on Feb 23, 2009 3:08 PM:
A woman (an employee) rushed out onto the porch area of the shop, waved her forefinger at us, and shouted, "Uh-uh! You can't park here! Paying customers only!". I called back that we did, indeed, intend to come into her store to shop, she crossed her arms and just looked at us like we were gutter slime.
I wanted to leave immediately, but my girlfriend decided to go in to talk to the owner (who was there). They were completely unapologetic, ("Well, you can shop if you want"), and stared hard at her the entire time she was in the store (which wasn't long, I can assure you).
I don't know what possessed them to treat us this way. We are not hippies or thugs - just tourists carrying around a pocket full of cash looking for someplace to spend it. Maybe it was because we are too young to fit their demographic (I am in my early 30's, and my girlfriend is in her 20's), or possibly because she was wearing an "Obama '08" t-shirt (political differences?), but the way we were treated by the employees and ownership of this business was nothing short of deplorable.
I own a retail business in Michigan myself, and never in a thousand years would I behave this way toward any customer - even if I didn't think they were planning on buying anything. Perhaps this is a luxury you get from doing business on a tourist island - that you can mistreat anybody you feel like, knowing that they will be a thousand miles away in a few days.
This singular experience served to ruin the last couple hours of our vacation, and cast a dark note on the entire trip. I do not, as a practice, write negatively of any business... but we were extremely upset by this. "