ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes, and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Except for historical information, the statements made in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Security Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements may be contained in, among other things, SEC filings, such as reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, the Annual Report to Shareholders, press releases made by the Company, the Company’s Internet Websites (including Websites of its subsidiaries), and oral statements made by officers of the Company.
This report, and other statements that the Company may make, may contain forward-looking statements with respect to the Company’s future financial, business or environmental, social and governance performance, strategies or expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as “trend,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “pipeline,” “believe,” “comfortable,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “current,” “intention,” “estimate,” “position,” “assume,” “outlook,” “continue,” “remain,” “maintain,” “sustain,” “seek,” “achieve,” “design,” “goal,” “plan,” or similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may” or similar expressions.
The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time, including, but not limited to, the risk factors that are described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” of Matson’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company assumes no duty to and does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.
OVERVIEW
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is designed to provide a discussion of the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and certain other factors that may affect its future results from the perspective of management. The discussion that follows is intended to provide information that will assist in understanding the changes in the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements from period to period, the primary factors that accounted for those changes, and how certain accounting principles, policies and estimates affect the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. MD&A is provided as a supplement to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and notes herein, and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company’s reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K, and other publicly available information.
THIRD QUARTER 2023 DISCUSSION AND UPDATE ON BUSINESS CONDITIONS
Ocean Transportation: The Company’s container volume in the Hawaii service in the third quarter 2023 was 1.9 percent lower year-over-year. The decrease was primarily due to lower general demand. In August, Maui experienced a significant economic disruption from devastating wildfires. According to UHERO’s most recent economic report, tourism to the island may not fully recover in the next several years, and the rebuilding of homes and businesses may take many years. In the near-term, Matson expects economic growth in Hawaii to moderate as tourism and visitor arrivals slowly rebound from the effects of the Maui wildfires.
In China, the Company’s container volume in the third quarter 2023 decreased 1.3 percent year-over-year. The decrease was primarily due to CCX volume in the third quarter 2022 (the CCX service was discontinued in the third quarter 2022) partially offset by higher volume in the CLX+ service. Matson continued to realize a significant rate premium over the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (“SCFI”) in the third quarter 2023 but achieved average freight rates that were lower than in the year ago period. Currently in the Transpacific marketplace, the Company continues to see a reduction of deployed capacity in light of lower volumes as a result of lower consumer demand for retail goods. Absent an