Matson Terminal

As a child of the 1950's I watched Matson's great cruise ships, the Lurline and the Matsonia, disgorge excited California tourists at the Aloha Tower. Matson has long since sold off its passenger cruise and hotel businesses but remains a significant player in Hawaiian freight. The Matson terminal at Sand Island has grown substantially to accommodate the revolution in the bulk transportation of materials (intermodal, roll-on/roll-off, etc.).

Matson Navigation was acquired by one of Hawaii's original "Big Five" companies, Alexander & Baldwin, in 1969. A&B last year spun off Matson as a separate entity. Headquartered on Sand Island, MATX is Hawaii's 14th publicly traded company and has a market capitalization of over $1 billion. Much has changed since Captain William Matson began shipping sugar cane to the Mainland in 1882; what hasn't is the importance to the Islands of the company that bears his name. © 2013 Stephen Yuen