Maui’s 160,000+ residents and 4,800+ businesses all rely on incoming and outgoing freight to keep their personal lives and professional endeavors moving forward.  

 

If you’re shipping freight to or from Maui, we’ll show you what you need to know to optimize your logistics. By understanding the ins and outs of Maui freight, you’ll discover new ways to create efficiencies, saving you both time and money as you move cargo to and from the Valley Isle. 

In This Article:

1. Know Your Maui Freight Modes
2. Direct Ocean Freight Service to Maui Is Available
3. For Maui Ocean Freight, Packaging Matters
4. Deliveries to Some Areas Can Be Tricky

  • Evaluating Your Pick-Up and Drop-Off Points
  • Choosing the Right Partner

5. Choose Your Freight Service Level Thoughtfully

  • What Is Curbside Delivery/Pick-Up?
  • What Is Inside Delivery/Pick-Up?
  • What Is White Glove Service?

1. Know Your Maui Freight Modes

Let’s start with the basics to set a solid foundation. You’ll have two choices for moving freight to or from Maui: 

Air Freight

  • Speed: Fast—as little as 2-3 days, or faster depending on the service level you choose
  • Cost: $$$
  • Ideal Commodities: Electronics, precision instruments; textiles and leather; pharmaceuticals; high-end accessories like handbags and jewelry; fresh meat and seafood; and medical/surgical equipment.

When you need to move Maui freight quickly, air freight in and out of Kahului Airport (OGG) will be your best choice. It’s also perfect for high-value freight that needs to arrive in pristine condition, such as luxury goods. Because of the high cost of air freight, we tend to recommend this mode for high-margin freight.

Learn more about Hawaii air freight.

Ocean Freight

 

  • Speed: Slower —Transit time for moving freight from West Coast ports to Kahului Harbor on Maui is ~7 days. (Add on additional time for receiving, loading, unloading, and delivery.)
  • Cost: $
  • Ideal Commodities: Freight of all kinds and sizes, including heavy, oversized, and hazardous freight.

 

For most shipments, ocean freight is the most economical option to get freight to from Maui—although it can also be the slowest. Additionally, for heavy, oversized, and hazardous shipments, ocean freight may be your only option for moving freight to and from Maui.

 

Full container (FCL) options are available to Maui. However, if you don’t have a full container of freight to move, consolidations (less-than-container load/LCL) are also a possibility.

 

Learn more about Hawaii ocean freight.

2. Direct Ocean Freight Service to Maui Is Available

map of maui

Honolulu Harbor on Oahu serves as Hawaii’s hub for receiving ocean freight. From there, barges carry freight for distribution to neighbor islands, including Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island.

 

If you’re importing freight for distribution to locations across the state of Hawaii, you’ll have some decisions to make regarding your logistics flow. Most operations choose one of two approaches:

  • Hub-and-Spoke: Truck all cargo to a central warehouse on Oahu, where it gets unpacked and sorted. Shipments are then repacked for neighbor islands and trucked back to the port to get loaded onto a barge for Maui, Kauai, or the Big Island.
  • Direct Service: Prep all freight shipments for each island at a mainland warehouse, and send each shipment directly to the store it’s intended for on Maui, Kauai, Oahu, and the Big Island. This system eliminates the need to receive, repack, and redistribute freight from Oahu. Maui, Kauai, and Big Island freight is simply transshipped at Honolulu Harbor and placed directly on a neighbor-island-bound barge.

When we help our clients optimize their Hawaii freight shipments, we encourage them to consider the second option—shipping direct. It will save you on your freight bills and transportation costs, expose your cargo to less handling, and get your shipment to Maui faster.

 

If you’re not already shipping direct to Maui, talk to one of our Hawaii freight experts. They’d be happy to run the numbers for you and show you how much you can save, both in terms of time and money.

Twice-Weekly Service to Maui Is Available

When you’re choosing a freight partner, look for one with access to twice-weekly sails to Maui. That way, if a shipment misses a cut-off date, you won’t have to wait an extra week for your next delivery.

 

This can save you big in three ways if your cargo misses the first sail date:

  • In air freight charges, since you likely won’t have to expedite that freight.
  • In customer dissatisfaction, since they won’t have to wait a full extra week for their order.
  • In lost time or revenue, since you’ll only lose a couple of days of being able to use or sell that cargo.

If you’re sending regular freight shipments to Maui, these costs can really add up. It’s worth it to find a partner with access to twice-weekly sails to Maui.

3. For Maui Ocean Freight, Packaging Matters

Hawaii is the most isolated island chain in the world. Ocean freight headed to or from Maui has to travel thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean to reach its destination.

 

Additionally, since Maui freight is usually transshipped through Oahu, it undergoes a couple extra loading and unloading procedures.

 

All of this is to say: Package your Maui freight carefully. For LCL freight/consolidations, best practices would dictate palletizing or crating your freight for easy handling. (Check out our tips for palletized freight.)

 

Additionally, consider keeping your pallets/crates under the following dimensions: 84″ tall, 80″ wide, and 40″ deep. Freight that falls within these dimensions fits well into both a container and a box truck. That means:

  • Increasing your chances of securing the best rates available, since it’s easy for your forwarder to find a place for this type of freight.
  • Subjecting your freight to minimal handling, since it’s less likely your forwarder would need to deconsolidate and rewrap your freight to fit your load.
  • Quick and easy delivery, since most Maui delivery vehicles can fit pallets of this size.

Of course, not all freight can conform to these sizes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ship them to Maui.

 

If you’ve got Maui freight that’s an unusual size, our experts can assist with a plan to ship your freight as efficiently as possible and keep your costs low. (We’ve shipped anything and everything to Hawaii!) Just reach out for a consultation.

4. Deliveries to Some Areas Can Be Tricky

Visitors love Maui for its stunning natural beauty and laid-back feel.

However, Maui’s narrow lanes, winding roads, steep slopes, and relatively rural setting can create challenges for crews picking up or delivering freight. (That’s especially true for pickups and deliveries to residential areas, which our crews are seeing more of in recent years!)

If you need freight picked up or delivered on Maui, here’s what this means for you:

 

Evaluate the Pick-Up or Delivery Point Carefully

 

If your driver has to negotiate a gravel lot or a grassy area, that can require a whole different type of equipment. Pallet jacks make moving freight easy, but they don’t work on gravel or grass—only on pavement. If you’re sending or receiving freight from an area with rough terrain, mention it to your Maui freight provider up front so they can plan accordingly.

Choose a Partner with the Right Equipment

The best Maui freight providers have a fleet of equipment at their disposal to handle all types of deliveries—including vans, box trucks, forklifts, pallet jacks, etc. If you’re shopping for a new provider, look for one with a diverse fleet. That way, they’ll be well-equipped to handle Maui deliveries with ease.

Consider an Asset-Based Provider on Maui

As you’re evaluating freight partners on Maui, you’ll find that some are asset-based, while others use agents on Maui:

Asset-based providers own their own fleets and employ their own crews.

Those that use agents essentially outsource their pick-ups and deliveries to companies with a physical presence on Maui.

When all goes well, you might not notice a difference between these two.

However, if you work with an asset-based provider, you’ll have a better chance of securing priority scheduling. In general, direct customers get first pick. If you ship freight using a provider with its own fleet on Maui, you’re more likely to get the schedule you’re looking for. If your provider uses an agent, your freight may not move with the same priority.

The bottom line? Asset-based forwarders are more likely to keep your freight moving efficiently—and on the timeline that works for you.

5. Choose Your Freight Service Level Thoughtfully

Shipping LTL Freight

While we’re talking about Maui freight pick-ups and deliveries, let’s review the available service levels. It’s important you request the right one up front—i.e., when you schedule your pick-up or delivery. That way, your driver will bring the right equipment and supplies to get the job done.  

 

Plus, choosing the right service level from the start will ensure you get an accurate quote, one with all of the applicable charges included. (Nobody likes a surprise on their invoice! ) 

 

Below, you’ll find a list of the three industry-standard freight service levels for pick-ups and deliveries: 

Curbside Delivery/Pick-Up

  • What’s included: Curbside delivery/pick-up is standard freight service. As you might guess, curbside service means that the driver will pick up or deliver freight to the “curb.” This might mean a loading dock, the end of a driveway, or a warehouse door. 
  • What’s not included: During a curbside pick-up or delivery, the driver isn’t required to come inside or move freight across the threshold. Curbside service also doesn’t include debris removal or unpacking. 

Inside Delivery/Pick-Up

  • What’s included: For an inside pick-up or delivery, the driver will come just across the threshold to pick up or deliver your freight.
  • What’s not included: In an inside delivery, the driver won’t navigate long hallways, climb stairs, or use an elevator. Unpacking and debris removal is also not generally included as part of inside delivery.

White Glove Service

  • What’s included: White glove is the highest freight service level available. It’s completely customizable to your needs. If you need delivery services like unpacking, assembly, putting freight in place, and removing debris, white glove service is the right choice. For freight pick-ups, white glove service could include entering a location to access freight wherever it sits, packing it for transit, and then loading it on a truck to move it to its destination.

Keep in mind that not all of these service levels will be available from all Maui freight providers. (Choose your provider wisely!) Either way, this list will give you a sense of what’s generally available industry-wide so you can pick the right service level—and the right provider—for your Maui pick-ups and drop-offs.

 

Efficient and Cost-Effective Maui Logistics

Whether you’re moving freight to or from Maui, understanding the ins and outs of the island’s logistics can only help you improve your efficiency and lower your costs.

 

If you want to take the next step toward optimizing your logistics, talk to one of our freight experts. We’ve been moving freight in Pacific lanes since 1991, and we know how to get cargo to and from Maui quickly and cost-effectively. Just reach out to our team, and we’ll get in touch to schedule a complementary consultation.

Get a Free Quote

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.