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.
SECOND QUARTER 2023 DISCUSSION AND UPDATE ON BUSINESS CONDITIONS
Ocean Transportation: The Company’s container volume in the Hawaii service in the second quarter 2023 was 7.1 percent lower year-over-year. The decrease was primarily due to lower retail-related volume. During the quarter, the Company saw retail customers continue to manage inventories to weaker consumer demand levels despite continued economic growth in Hawaii supported by a low unemployment rate and relatively strong visitor arrivals. In the second half of 2023, Matson expects continued improvement in the Hawaii economy supported by continued growth in visitor arrivals and a low unemployment rate.
In China, the Company’s container volume in the second quarter 2023 decreased 24.6 percent year-over-year. The decrease was primarily due to (i) CCX volume in the second quarter 2022 (CCX service was discontinued in the third quarter 2022), (ii) lower capacity in the CLX service due to the dry-docking of Daniel K. Inouye and (iii) one less CLX+ sailing. Matson continued to realize a significant rate premium over the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (“SCFI”) in the second quarter 2023 but achieved average freight rates that were lower than in the year ago period. Currently in the Transpacific marketplace, the Company is seeing modest reductions in deployed capacity and retail inventories are in