There are a variety of items to consider when determining how to ship a container to Hawaii. The first couple of items are the transit time and deadlines you may have to meet.From our experience on timing and deadlines, no one is faster than Matson Navigation Company, a primary mode of ocean transportation for DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express. Matson’s transit times are shorter than the other ocean carrier by a day from Long Beach, and out of Oakland and Seattle. The other carrier, Pasha Hawaii, does not compete time-wise. Barge services offering Hawaiian Island connections also do not compete time-wise to or from Hawaii. So, if you are under a deadline or transit time is important, your first option will be Matson.
Another important factor is the origin of your container being shipped to Hawaii. From most origins within the US other than the West Coast, the rail transit times and rail service between the two are very similar. Pasha’s overall rail/inland may be a little less expensive, usually within $100 of Matson’s. Most intermodal or rail moves get shipped into Los Angeles for the subsequent sailing to Hawaii.
You’ll also want to look into the pricing of your container shipment to Hawaii. Depending on whether your shipment to Hawaii is recurring in nature or not, and depending if you are a business or an individual, your pricing will normally be at published tariff rates. If you are not a business and if your shipment of containers to Hawaii is not recurring in frequency, the ocean carriers have tariff rates allowing them to charge everyone uniformly.
Matson tariffs have evolved over a 100+ years, and they are based on a combination of the service offerings Matson has, the value of the goods in the container, the likelihood that what's in the container can be damaged, the weight of the container’s contents, etc. The competitor to Matson is Pasha and they normally have a tariff that is quite similar to Matson’s tariff, so the pricing is similar except if one of the carriers can be negotiated with to price their shipments differently.
DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express has people who are experts in the carriers’ tariffs and have the knowledge to help you ensure your shipment arrives on time, intact, and competitively priced.
We represent a very healthy option for a business interested in reducing their rate basis as well as for those looking for answers to questions with respect to shipping containers to Hawaii.
