HAWAII LOGISTICS
Honolulu Freight Service: Serving Hawaii for Nearly 90 Years Nearly 90 years ago, shortly after Paul Beidleman started handling shipments from Yuma, Arizona, to Los Angeles under the trucking company Yuma Merchants Express, he discovered an opportunity that would revolutionize the Hawaii shipping industry. Southern California truckers didn’t like driving to the piers, where Paul often made deliveries bound for Hawaii on Matson ships. So he started doing it for them, spearheading the consolidation of freight to the islands with the founding of United Drayage. That spirit of innovation continues to drive the company, now known as Honolulu Freight Service, or HFS. The company has served Hawaii longer than anyone else and is now the state’s largest LCL shipper, direct loading dry and refrigerated cargo to and from all major Hawaiian Islands and Guam. “Ever since the beginning, Honolulu Freight Service has identified ways we can improve the shipping process and customer experience,” says Paul’s grandson, Honolulu Freight Service President and CEO James Beidleman. He is joined in the third generation of HFS family leadership by his brother Mark Beidleman, who serves as senior vice president and area manager in Southern California. From the earliest days of using bright stickers to quickly identify packaged goods as they came off the ship, followed by plywood containers to minimize damage, to today’s state-of-the-art terminal and warehousing operations throughout the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, and Guam, Honolulu Freight Service works closely with each customer to identify the best shipping solution for their cargo, budget, and timeline. INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE In 2022 HFS purchased the former Love’s Bakery location in Honolulu to serve as the new HFS headquarters and 92,400-square-foot operations center, offering a central location to efficiently serve the entire island.
“Companies need contingency plans to navigate the impact of such disasters,” Talbert notes. The vagaries of weather notwithstanding, logistics pros know that much about the island(s) remains constant. The unique geography of the Aloha State means the challenges logistics providers face will never change. “Hawaii will always present unique challenges,” says Kane McEwen, president of DHX- Dependable Hawaiian Express, which offers both full container load (FCL) and less-than-container load (LCL) ocean freight and air freight services. Using its transcontinental trucking network, DHX moves LCL/FCL shipments from any point in the country, and provides intermodal services to and from Hawaii and Guam. DHX also offers LCL and FCL eastbound service from Hawaii and Guam throughout the continental United States. “Logistical execution in Hawaii is more complex than in the U.S. mainland,” McEwen says. “Shipment execution requires operational flexibility to perform services that require a range of equipment—flatbeds, lowboys, forklift in tow, pallet jacks, and hand trucks. “This is required to effectively meet the service expectations of hotels and retailers with inside delivery, as well as construction/job-site, residential/ home delivery, and final mile/white- glove delivery; providing shipment status
“FREIGHT FORWARDERS ARE CRITICAL TO THE COMMUNITIES AND BUSINESSES OF HAWAII, GIVEN THE STATE’S UNIQUE LOCATION 2,400 MILES FROM THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES.”
- JAMES BEIDLEMAN PRESIDENT AND CEO HONOLULU FREIGHT SERVICE
visibility to our customers from the beginning of their shipment to the end is also an expectation,” he adds. While the geographical challenges of Hawaii are constant, the expectations and needs of customers continually increase. “Within the ever-changing world of logistics, effective solutions have become more critical for businesses in Hawaii,” McEwen says. Fortunately for businesses and residents, the state’s logistics providers stand ready to meet each challenge as it presents itself.
Transporting cargo to and from all major Hawaiian Islands and Guam, Honolulu Freight Service provides a comprehensive network as well as full-service supply chain capabilities.
56 Inbound Logistics • June 2024
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