Freight Forwarding / Logistics / Transportation Companies? (co-ops, Home Depot, transfer)

[KannonDiCarpo]

Hey all,

I am in the process of re-locating my family to The Aloha State and I'm looking for a job in my profession. I really need to have something wrapped up before I head out there in Feb.

I will be 27 next week and I am married with 3 beautiful young children. I am incredibly motivated to give them the best life possible. We truly believe our life is waiting for us in HI which is why we have decided to take the big risk and go for it.

I have a good amount of experience in Freight Forwarding, Logistics, and Trucking and I am good at it as well (always a plus ). My LinkedIn Profile

I am currently prospecting potential employers on all the islands so I figured it wouldn't hurt to reach out on here to see if anyone knows of any such available positions, knows someone in the industry, or has any suggestions as far as companies go.

Any feedback is truly appreciated. Aloha.

Kevin

[PacificFlights]

ten years ago there were jobs galore. Everyone from Matson, Evergreen, YB, hanjin, you name it needed people. Costco, Target, Home Depot all were looking. Even the local farmer co-ops needed someone to coordinate transportation & shipping, not to mention if you have document prep expereince, you would be snapped up. I was transfered by my company to Hawaii with housing provided, high wages, benefits, company vehicle, I ended up having to hire a document facilitaor because of needs. Over time, computers took over much of the work and the need for a dedicated person was replaced by contract companies who hire one person to work for several companies ass needed.

Today, most of that work is now being done electrinically from central service providers on the mainland or other asian countries. people who started as a shipping clerk have moved up to the more demaning logistic manager positions and they are not giving it up. Since shipping was a big part of Hawaii, there are hundreds of experienced people who know the localized methods, documents, procedures and resources and have made connections that speed things along.

As economy tightened, companies started saving money by consolidating positions and combining operations reducuing the need. Right now i know 4 people who were in shipping for one international top 5 player whos jobs shifted from hawaii to nebraska. They work in a central processing center doing 90% of their work on computers and phones. No longer are they handling Hawaii needs but all ports in the US are served at that location. Even the Hawaii cruise line logistical support center is now located in some office in Arizona. From there they handle all logistics operations for Hawaii and the pacific coast.

With that reality check, if your willing to walk in at the bottom and let your work expereince elevate you, there are jobs on Hawaii available. Don;t expect a ground transportation to air/sea tranfer staffer to be hired because thats what they know. Expect them to hire a mid level logistics specialist to log container numbers to start. With so many in the field not working, companuies are hiring above average expereince as entry level, but the chances for advancement is there once you prove yourself.

Don;t forget the defense dept as they are equal to the private companies in need.

[KannonDiCarpo]

Pacific-

Thanks so much for the excellent feedback (and reality check).

I think I'm going to focus on the smaller, local pickup and delivery agents since they work extensively with companies like my current employer. Right now I work with a mid-size forwarder that is pretty well known in the business. Do you think my ties can help me get hired by offering promise of bringing in more business from my (possibly-soon-to-be) former employer? I'm not just blowing smoke either, I do have a great working relationship with my entire team and there is little doubt that they would go out of their way to work with me when possible.

From what I understand, there are even a few cartage agents that dabble in forwarding freight from the mainland. THOSE would be my #1 target.

What do you think about this strategy? Do you know anything about the local cartage scene?

Thanks again.

[PacificFlights]

I would not get too much into bringing business from your former emplyer as a main piece. Hawaii logistics is small despite the massive shipping that occurs and I know our company would never hire a person who talks about raiding their former employer customers since that means they would do the same if they left and went to someone else.

The bottleneck in Hawaii frieght forwarding is there are only a half dozen carriers from the mainland to Hawaii. 3 are contract carriers and 3 are contract & direct to user carriers. All their prices are about the same and these contracts are written for long term. If your bringing over wheeled contruction equipment, you use Pasha. Don;t matter what anyone else charges, it's going to be Pasha. Matson is the primary containerized mainland to Hawaii carrier. Your moving a 45 refer from Oahu to Maui, its going to be YB. There isn;t as much competition as one would think because there isn;t enough beuisiness for too much competition.

The area where jobs may be found easy is on the outer islands because they don;t benefit from what's on Oahu. You need to transport goods from a location on Maui to the harbor, you can't call the trucking company on Oahu who have many trucks available on short notice, you have to work with whats on that island. That takes some good coordination to keep cost down, productivity up, and meeting everyones schedule.

[KannonDiCarpo]

I just realized that I was not very clear on this. I would not steal customers from my current employer nor would I be stupid enough to think something like that would get me hired. I was referring to the fact that my company currently uses about 10-15 cartage agents for local pick ups and deliveries on the islands. My established relationships with my current co-workers would naturally funnel a larger percentage of business to the agent that hires me.

I really appreciate your input on this. Anything else you can tell me about the local pick up / delivery scene would be appreciated.

Kevin