Freight handlers picking up loads stranded by shutdown
Aloha cargo closure leaves Maui growers scramblingBy CLAUDINE SAN NICOLAS, Staff Writer
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Two farmers — one who grows hydroponic greens and another who grows flowers — found options they both said they were excited to see spring into action.
Teena Rasmussen of Paradise Flower Farms said she’ll be using Commodity Forwarders Inc., a refrigerated truck service, which provides transportation of perishable items from Maui to Oahu and back via the Hawaii Superferry.
Commodity Forwarders, which has offices throughout the islands and in California and Alaska, already had three successful runs between Maui and Oahu since it started its perishable transportation service on the Superferry on April 18, according to Ruth Fuentes, the Maui station supervisor for CFI.
Before this week’s sudden demand, Commodity Forwarders Inc. had helped farmers and candy manufacturers move their goods once a week between Maui and Oahu via the Superferry.
After Aloha shut down its cargo division Monday night with its financing cut off, Commodity Forwarders moved to provide its refrigerated truck service on a daily basis.
“This was a great opportunity for us to broaden our program,” Fuentes said. “This whole Aloha thing has got everyone in a frenzy and we want to help.”
Rasmussen said she’s willing to give it a try, and especially likes the service price of 15 cents a pound, versus paying 50 cents a pound, which is what Hawaiian Airlines charges.
“Actually this could be a good deal,” Rasmussen said.
She still has to use Hawaiian for shipments to the Big Island and Kauai. The Superferry stopped its service to Kauai in the face of strong public protests, and it is not scheduled to start its service to Kawaihae on the Big Island until 2009.
Rasmussen said her only concern about using Commodity Forwarders is the reliability of the Superferry, which canceled runs last winter because of heavy ocean swells. The ferry service also halted in February and March for repairs needed to the 350-foot vessel.
Kula farmer Chauncey Monden said he’s also going to give Commodity Forwarders a try when he sends out his goods on Friday.
Monden canceled two shipments of strawberries on Tuesday, worried he would not be able to find a shipper despite a commitment to his Oahu customers.
“They were empathetic. They know we have no control over the situation,” Monden said. He was able to sell the strawberries on Maui.
Geoff Haines of Waipoli Hydroponic Greens said 40 percent of his business involves shipping lettuce three times a week to an Oahu distributer who sells it to high-end restaurants.
“My whole success has been consistency and quality,” Haines said. “That’s the way I compete and how I stay in the market.”
Haines said he and his partner spent much of Monday night and Tuesday morning talking about what they were going to do, and discussing it with their distributer, Local Island Fresh Edibles on Oahu.
“We were tense,” he said. “We were frantically trying to work this out.”
They decided to go with Young Brothers Inc. and place their goods on a barge for shipment. Haines said he’s used the service before and never got complaints about his produce.
“I think it might be cheaper, I’m not sure, but we’ll give it a try,” he said.
In retrospect, Haines said he wished he had approached Hawaiian Airlines earlier when he sensed trouble at Aloha, which laid off approximately 1,900 workers statewide after the airline shut down its passenger service on March 31. He estimated it could take as long as a month to set up shipping arrangements with Hawaiian.
Meanwhile, Monden said he was sad that his seven-year working relationship with Aloha cargo ended so abruptly.
“I feel bad for the guys who lost their jobs,” he said. “We really got along with them.”
“It’s a disruption of our service, but we can maneuver our business. They’ve got to go look for a job.”
Gilbert Silva, general sales manager for Maui Farmers Cooperative Exchange on Lower Main Street in Wailuku, said he felt bad over the plight of farmers who relied on Aloha cargo to ship their perishable goods.
Silva offered to help Monden with contacts on other options for shipping goods.
The 15 farmers in the Cooperative Exchange are not affected by the Aloha cargo shutdown, Silva said. They ship out their produce through Young Brothers. and have started to use the Superferry once a week.
“I feel bad totally for the farmers that depend on the air cargo,” he said. “We’ve been OK so far.”
Monden said while he’s giving Commodity Forwarders a test run Friday, he’s also considering other options such as Hawaiian Airlines cargo and Young Brothers.
“We’re looking at all venues and we’ll just have to see what works.”
• Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.
