People and Communities

Matson began serving Hawaii in 1882, when our founder, Captain William Matson, embarked on his first voyage from San Francisco to bring necessary provisions and food to sugar plantations near Hilo. Since then, our business has grown beyond Hawaii to serve many communities across the Pacific while helping to advance Transpacific trade and expanding into intermodal transportation across North America and Asia. Throughout the years, we have not lost sight of the connection and responsibility we have to the communities we serve, as well as to the people who make up our company.

Human Capital Management and Development

In support of Matson’s vision to be a great place to work for all employees, we focus on a variety of human capital programs that have been developed to attract, retain, and motivate our employee workforce. As a company that operates in various global locations, Matson’s human capital programs are designed to reflect the unique market practices in each geographic location. We believe in the importance of employing a diverse, talented, and engaged workforce that reflects our local communities, supports an environment of high standards and performance, and thrives in the Company’s collaborative and respectful culture.

Safety

As a provider of ocean transportation and logistics services, there are inherent safety risks in our operations. Our goal is to prevent injuries on our vessels and in our shoreside terminals, warehouses, and offices. We work diligently across our operations to reduce the likelihood of accidents and to provide a safe and secure working environment for all Matson employees. We endeavor to encourage and empower our employees and contractors to speak up, feel confident their concerns will be heard, and understand the right actions to take during a given safety situation.

Community Impact

We take seriously our role as a supply chain lifeline for the many non-contiguous communities we serve. In addition to providing timely and reliable service, this means giving back to our communities across the Pacific and in the continental U.S. We partner with local organizations to provide meaningful support through funding, in-kind contributions and volunteer efforts focused on addressing critical community needs, such as disaster response, food security, access to vital health services, culture and the arts.

Demand for Matson's China Service

Over the years, we have experienced increasing demand for Matson’s expedited service offering from China to the U.S. West Coast. Matson’s CLX and MAX services are the two fastest services in the Transpacific tradelane. Expedited ocean service is significantly less expensive than air freight with only a few extra days of additional transit time. Moreover, switching from air to expedited ocean transportation results in notable reductions in GHG emissions associated with customers’ shipping footprints—in some cases over 95% on a per product basis. Our services therefore contribute to broader efforts to decarbonize global supply chains.

Matson Giving

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For more information, please see our latest Sustainability Report and Careers at Matson.