Matson Inc (MATX) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Matson's Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加美森 2023 年第三季財務業績電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

And I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Mr. Lee Fishman, Vice President of Finance. Sir, please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給今天的發言人，財務副總裁李‧菲什曼 (Lee Fishman) 先生。先生，請繼續。

Thank you, Chris. Joining me on the call today are Matt Cox, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Joel Wine, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Slides from this presentation are available for download at our website, www.matson.com, under the Investors tab.

謝謝你，克里斯。今天與我一起參加電話會議的還有董事長兼執行長 Matt Cox；執行副總裁兼財務長 Joel Wine。本簡報的投影片可在我們的網站 www.matson.com 的「投資者」標籤下下載。

Before we begin, I would like to remind you that during the course of this call, we will make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws regarding expectations, predictions, projections or future events. We believe that our expectations and assumptions are reasonable. We caution you to consider the risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements in the press release, the presentation slides and this conference call.

在開始之前，我想提醒您，在本次電話會議期間，我們將就聯邦證券法含義內的預期、預測、預測或未來事件做出前瞻性陳述。我們相信我們的期望和假設是合理的。我們提醒您考慮可能導致實際結果與新聞稿、簡報投影片和本次電話會議中的前瞻性陳述有重大差異的風險因素。

These risk factors are described in our press release and presentation, and are more fully detailed under the caption Risk Factors on Pages 14 to 24 of our Form 10-K filed on February 24, 2023, and in our subsequent filings with the SEC. Please also note that the date of this conference call is October 30th, 2023, and any forward-looking statements that we make today are based on assumptions as of this date. We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

這些風險因素在我們的新聞稿和簡報中進行了描述，並在我們於2023 年2 月24 日提交的10-K 表格第14 至24 頁的風險因素標題下以及我們隨後向SEC 提交的文件中進行了更全面的詳細說明。另請注意，本次電話會議的日期是 2023 年 10 月 30 日，我們今天所做的任何前瞻性陳述均基於截至該日期的假設。我們不承擔更新這些前瞻性陳述的義務。

I will now turn the call over to Matt.

我現在將把電話轉給馬特。

Okay. Thanks, Lee, and thanks to those on the call. Starting on Slide 3. Matson's Ocean Transportation and Logistics business segments continued to perform well despite a challenging business environment and relatively difficult economic conditions impacting the U.S. consumer.

好的。謝謝李，也謝謝參加電話會議的人。從幻燈片 3 開始。儘管充滿挑戰的商業環境和相對困難的經濟狀況影響了美國消費者，但美森的海運和物流業務部門繼續表現良好。

For the third quarter, within Ocean Transportation, our China service experienced solid freight demand despite the muted peak season in the Transpacific tradelane, but generated lower year-over-year volume and freight rates, which were the primary contributors to the year-over-year decline in our annual -- in our consolidated operating income. We also saw lower year-over-year volumes in Hawaii, Alaska and Guam compared to the year ago period.

第三季度，在海洋運輸領域，儘管跨太平洋貿易航線的旺季淡季，我們的中國服務仍經歷了強勁的貨運需求，但成交量和運費同比下降，這是同比增長的主要貢獻者。我們的綜合營業收入年度下降。與去年同期相比，我們也發現夏威夷、阿拉斯加和關島的年比銷量有所下降。

In Logistics, operating income decreased year-over-year primarily due to lower contributions from transportation brokerage. I will now go through the third quarter performance of our tradelanes, SSAT and logistics. So please turn to the next slide.

在物流方面，營業收入較去年同期下降，主要是因為運輸經紀業務的貢獻減少。我現在將介紹我們的貿易航線、SSAT 和物流的第三季業績。請翻到下一張投影片。

Hawaii container volume for the third quarter decreased 1.9% year-over-year primarily due to lower general demand. Volume in the third quarter of 2023 was 0.8% higher than the volume achieved in the third quarter of 2019.

夏威夷第三季貨櫃吞吐量年減 1.9%，主要是因為整體需求下降。 2023 年第三季的銷量比 2019 年第三季的銷量高出 0.8%。

Please turn to Slide 5. In August, Maui experienced a significant economic disruption from devastating wildfires. According to UHERO, September's economic report, tourism to the islands may not fully recover in the next several years and the rebuilding of homes and businesses may take many years. Demand for construction workers is expected to increase with the rebuilding efforts in Lahaina and other areas in Maui.

請參閱幻燈片 5。8 月，毛伊島經歷了毀滅性野火造成的嚴重經濟損害。根據UHERO 9月的經濟報告，未來幾年內島嶼旅遊業可能不會完全恢復，房屋和企業的重建可能需要很多年。隨著拉海納和毛伊島其他地區的重建工作，對建築工人的需求預計將會增加。

In the near term, Matson expects economic growth in Hawaii to moderate as tourism and visitor arrivals slowly rebound from the effects of the Maui wildfires.

馬特森預計，短期內，隨著旅遊業和遊客人數從毛伊島野火的影響中緩慢反彈，夏威夷的經濟成長將放緩。

Moving to our China service on Slide 6. Matson's volume in the third quarter of 2023 was 1.3% lower year-over-year, primarily due to no CCX service in the quarter, partially offset by higher CLX+ volume. The higher CLX+ volume in the quarter compared to the prior year period was a result of higher utilization on the vessels and greater capacity of the CLX+ fleet. As you may recall, in the third quarter of last year, we began to see a path to normalization from the pandemic-driven highs as congestion throughout the supply chain eased.

轉到幻燈片 6 上的中國服務。Matson 2023 年第三季度的交易量同比下降 1.3%，主要是由於該季度沒有 CCX 服務，但 CLX+ 交易量的增加部分抵消了這一影響。與去年同期相比，本季 CLX+ 吞吐量有所增加，這是由於船舶利用率更高以及 CLX+ 船隊運力更大。您可能還記得，去年第三季度，隨著整個供應鏈的擁塞狀況得到緩解，我們開始看到一條從疫情引發的高點走向正常化的道路。

During the quarter, we continued to see solid demand in the e-commerce and e-goods verticals and stable demand from the garments vertical. We achieved average freight rates in the quarter that were lower than the year ago period but well-above those achieved in the third quarter of 2019. Matson continued to realize a significant rate premium over the SCFI in the third quarter of 2023.

本季度，我們繼續看到電子商務和電子商品垂直行業的強勁需求以及服裝垂直行業的穩定需求。我們在本季實現的平均運費低於去年同期，但遠高於 2019 年第三季的平均運費。美森在 2023 年第三季繼續實現了較 SCFI 顯著的費率溢價。

Please turn to Slide 7. Currently, in the Transpacific marketplace, we continue to see a reduction of deployed capacity in light of lower volumes as a result of lower consumer demand for retail goods. We continue to differentiate our China service from the others in the tradelane with a high degree of reliability and consistency and 11-day ocean transit time and 24-hour availability at the unique shippers transport off-dock facility.

請參閱投影片 7。目前，在跨太平洋市場，由於消費者對零售商品的需求下降，銷售量減少，因此我們繼續看到部署容量的減少。我們繼續以高度的可靠性和一致性、11 天的海運時間以及獨特的托運人運輸離港設施 24 小時可用性，使我們的中國服務與貿易航線上的其他服務區分開來。

At 10% to 15% of the cost of air freight, our China service continues to offer a significant value proposition for airfreight customers with only 5 to 7 days of additional transit time. And for those customers looking to reduce their product's carbon footprint, while saving a considerable amount of money, our customers tell us that switching from air freight to our expedited ocean freight product reduces their CO2 emissions by approximately 95%.

我們的中國服務的成本僅為空運成本的 10% 至 15%，僅需 5 至 7 天的額外運輸時間，即可繼續為空運客戶提供重要的價值主張。對於那些希望減少產品碳足跡，同時節省大量資金的客戶來說，我們的客戶告訴我們，從空運轉向我們的加急海運產品可將其二氧化碳排放量減少約 95%。

Looking forward, absent an economic hard landing in the U.S., we expect trade dynamics in 2024 to be comparable to 2023 as consumer-related spending activity is expected to remain stable. Furthermore, regardless of the economic backdrop, we continue to expect to earn a significant rate premium to the SCFI, reflecting our fast and reliable ocean services and unmatched destination services.

展望未來，如果美國經濟不出現硬著陸，我們預計 2024 年的貿易動態將與 2023 年相當，因為與消費者相關的支出活動預計將保持穩定。此外，無論經濟背景如何，我們仍然期望獲得比 SCFI 高的費率溢價，這反映了我們快速可靠的海運服務和無與倫比的目的地服務。

Please turn to the next slide. In Guam, Matson's container volume in the third quarter of 2023 decreased 1.9% year-over-year. The decrease was primarily due to lower general demand. Volume in the third quarter of 2023 was 12.8% higher than the level achieved in the third quarter of 2019. In the near term, we expect continued improvement in the Guam economy with a low unemployment rate and a modest increase in tourism from low levels.

請翻到下一張投影片。在關島，美森2023年第三季的貨櫃吞吐量年減1.9%。下降的主要原因是整體需求下降。 2023 年第三季的交易量比 2019 年第三季的水準高出 12.8%。短期內，我們預期關島經濟將持續改善，失業率較低，旅遊業將從低水準溫和成長。

Please turn to the next slide. In Alaska, Matson's container volume for the third quarter of 2023 decreased 9.1% year-over-year. The decrease was due to lower export seafood volume from AAX. Lower northbound volume due to lower retail-related demand. And lower southbound volume primarily due to lower domestic seafood volumes. Approximately 85% of the year-over-year volume decline as a result of lower seafood volumes in the AAX and southbound services. Year-to-year, there can be rather meaningful changes in the summer volumes depending on the strength of the seasonal Alaskan catch.

請翻到下一張投影片。在阿拉斯加，美森2023年第三季的貨櫃吞吐量較去年同期下降9.1%。下降的原因是 AAX 海鮮出口量減少。由於零售相關需求減少，北行車量減少。南行貨量減少主要是因為國內海鮮產量減少。由於 AAX 和南行航線的海鮮貨量減少，貨量較去年同期下降約 85%。每年，夏季捕撈量可能會發生相當有意義的變化，這取決於阿拉斯加季節性捕撈的強度。

Compared to the third quarter of 2019, volume in the quarter was 12.9% higher. In the near term, we expect the Alaska economy to continue to benefit from low unemployment and increased energy-related exploration and production activity as a result of elevated oil prices.

與 2019 年第三季相比，該季度的銷量增長了 12.9%。短期內，我們預計阿拉斯加經濟將繼續受益於低失業率以及油價上漲導致的能源相關勘探和生產活動的增加。

Please turn to Slide 10. Our terminal joint venture, SSAT, declined $22.1 million year-over-year to $1.3 million. The lower contribution was primarily due to lower demurrage revenue and lower lift volume. SSAT saw significantly less demurrage revenue in the quarter due to easing port congestion and lower lift volume consistent with lower year-over-year demand in the Transpacific service. In the fourth quarter of 2023, we expect lift volume to reflect a relatively challenging environment for the Transpacific tradelane.

請參閱幻燈片 10。我們的碼頭合資企業 SSAT 年減 2,210 萬美元，降至 130 萬美元。貢獻減少主要是由於滯期費收入減少和電梯量減少。由於港口擁塞緩解，以及與跨太平洋航線同比需求下降一致的貨運量下降，SSAT 本季滯期費收入顯著減少。我們預計 2023 年第四季的貨運量將反映跨太平洋貿易航線相對具有挑戰性的環境。

Turning now to logistics on Slide 11. Operating income in the third quarter came in at $13.9 million or $6.2 million lower than the result in the year-ago period. The decrease was primarily due to a lower contribution from transportation brokerage. In the near term, we expect a mix of activity across the logistics lines of business. We expect continued growth in Alaska to be supportive of our freight forwarding demand. We expect supply chain management to track our China service. And for Transpacific brokerage -- and for transportation brokerage, we expect continued near-term challenges with lower freight demand and excess capacity.

現在轉向幻燈片 11 上的物流。第三季的營業收入為 1,390 萬美元，比去年同期減少 620 萬美元。下降的主要原因是運輸經紀業務的貢獻減少。短期內，我們預期物流業務領域將出現一系列活動。我們預計阿拉斯加的持續成長將支持我們的貨運需求。我們期望供應鏈管理能夠追蹤我們的中國服務。對於跨太平洋經紀業務和運輸經紀業務來說，我們預計近期將繼續面臨貨運需求下降和運力過剩的挑戰。

And with that, I will now turn the call over to Joel for a review of our financial performance. Joel?

現在，我將把電話轉給喬爾，要求他審查我們的財務表現。喬爾？

Okay. Thanks, Matt. Please turn to Slide 12 for a review of our third quarter results.

好的。謝謝，馬特。請參閱投影片 12 查看我們第三季的業績。

For the third quarter, consolidated operating income decreased $203.2 million year-over-year to $132.1 million with lower contributions from Ocean Transportation and Logistics of $97 million and $6.2 million, respectively. The decrease in Ocean Transportation operating income in the third quarter was primarily due to lower freight rates in China, and a lower contribution from SSAT, partially offset by higher volume in the CLX+ service, and lower operating costs and expenses, including fuel-related expenses primarily related to discontinuation of the CCX service, which occurred in September of last year. As Matt noted, the decrease in Logistics operating income was primarily due to a lower contribution from transportation brokerage.

第三季度，綜合營業收入年減 2.032 億美元，至 1.321 億美元，其中海洋運輸和物流的貢獻分別減少了 9,700 萬美元和 620 萬美元。第三季遠洋運輸營業收入的下降主要是由於中國運費下降以及 SSAT 的貢獻較低，但部分被 CLX+ 服務量增加以及營運成本和費用（包括燃油相關費用）下降所抵消主要與去年9 月發生的CCX 服務終止有關。正如馬特指出的那樣，物流營業收入的下降主要是由於運輸經紀業務的貢獻減少。

We had interest income of $9.3 million in the quarter due to higher cash investment rates on our cash and cash equivalents and cash deposits in the CCF as compared to the prior year period. Interest expense in the quarter decreased $2.6 million year-over-year due to the decline in outstanding debt as compared to the prior year period. The effective tax rate in the quarter was 14.5% compared to 20.4% in the year ago period.

由於我們的現金和現金等價物以及 CCF 現金存款的現金投資率高於去年同期，我們本季的利息收入為 930 萬美元。由於未償債務較上年同期減少，本季利息支出較去年同期減少 260 萬美元。本季的有效稅率為 14.5%，而去年同期為 20.4%。

Please turn to the next slide. The slide shows how we allocated our trailing 12-months of cash flow generation. For the LTM period, we generated cash flow from operations of approximately $568.5 million, from which we used $81.5 million to retire debt, $168.9 million on maintenance and other CapEx, $102.6 million on new vessel CapEx, including capitalized interest and owners' items, $24.1 million in cash deposits and interest income in the CCF, net of withdrawals for milestone payments, $24.5 million on other cash outflows, while returning $253.2 million to shareholders via dividends and share repurchase.

請翻到下一張投影片。這張幻燈片顯示了我們如何分配過去 12 個月的現金流量產生。在LTM 期間，我們從營運中產生了約5.685 億美元的現金流，其中8,150 萬美元用於償還債務，1.689 億美元用於維護和其他資本支出，1.026 億美元用於新船資本支出，包括資本化利息和所有者項目，24.1 美元CCF 的現金存款和利息收入扣除里程碑付款提款後的淨額、其他現金流出 2,450 萬美元，同時透過股息和股票回購向股東返還 2.532 億美元。

Please turn to Slide 14 for a summary of our share repurchase program and balance sheet. During the quarter, we repurchased approximately 0.3 million shares for a total cost of $25.8 million, including taxes. For the first 9-months of the year, we repurchased 1.6 million shares for a total cost of $110.3 million. Since we initiated our share repurchase program in August 2021 through September 30th of this year, we have repurchased 9 million shares or nearly 21% of our stock for a total cost of over $705 million.

請參閱投影片 14，以了解我們的股票回購計畫和資產負債表的摘要。本季度，我們回購了約 30 萬股股票，總成本為 2,580 萬美元（含稅）。今年前 9 個月，我們回購了 160 萬股股票，總成本為 1.103 億美元。自 2021 年 8 月啟動股票回購計畫以來，截至今年 9 月 30 日，我們已回購 900 萬股股票，即近 21% 的股票，總成本超過 7.05 億美元。

As we have said before, we are committed to returning excess capital to shareholders and plan to continue to do so in the absence of any large organic or inorganic growth investment opportunities.

正如我們之前所說，我們致力於將多餘資本返還給股東，並計劃在沒有任何大型有機或無機成長投資機會的情況下繼續這樣做。

Turning to our debt levels. Our total debt at the end of the third quarter was $450.3 million, a reduction of $12.1 million from the end of the second quarter.

轉向我們的債務水平。第三季末我們的總債務為 4.503 億美元，比第二季末減少 1,210 萬美元。

I'm now going to walk through an update on a couple of financial items, so please turn to the next slide. The cash balance in the CCF at the end of the quarter was $591.6 million. Based on the remaining milestone payments of roughly $899 million today, nearly 2/3 of the program is funded by restricted cash in the CCF. Note that the 2/3 figure excludes cash and cash equivalents currently on our balance sheet, interest income on cash and CCF deposits that may be earned in future years, and also excludes the 2022 tax-year IRS refund of $119 million that we still expect to receive.

我現在將介紹幾個財務項目的最新情況，因此請翻到下一張投影片。本季末 CCF 現金餘額為 5.916 億美元。根據今天剩餘的約 8.99 億美元的里程碑付款，該計劃的近 2/3 是由 CCF 中的限制性現金資助的。請注意，2/3 的數字不包括我們資產負債表上當前的現金和現金等價物、未來幾年可能賺取的現金和CCF 存款的利息收入，也不包括我們仍然預計的2022 納稅年度IRS 退款1.19 億美元受到。

On vessel construction payments, we continue to expect to make our next milestone payment in the second quarter of next year.

在船舶建造付款方面，我們繼續預計在明年第二季支付下一個里程碑付款。

Lastly, for the fourth quarter, we anticipate an effective tax rate of approximately 23% versus the 14.5% tax rate in the third quarter.

最後，我們預計第四季的有效稅率約為 23%，而第三季的稅率為 14.5%。

I'll now turn the call back over to Matt.

我現在將把電話轉回給馬特。

Okay. Thanks, Joel. Please turn to Slide 16, where I'll go through some closing thoughts. We expect consolidated operating income in the fourth quarter of 2023 to be higher than the level achieved in the first quarter of 2023. Normal seasonality trends have returned to our domestic tradelanes and Logistics. For our China service, we expect continued solid freight demand with some seasonality in the post-holiday time frame. We also expect CLX and CLX+ freight rates in the fourth quarter of 2023 to be well above pre-pandemic rates.

好的。謝謝，喬爾。請參閱投影片 16，我將在其中闡述一些結束語。我們預計 2023 年第四季的綜合營業收入將高於 2023 年第一季的水平。我們的國內貿易航線和物流已恢復正常的季節性趨勢。對於我們的中國航線，我們預計節後期間貨運需求將持續強勁，但存在一定的季節性。我們也預期 2023 年第四季的 CLX 和 CLX+ 運價將遠高於疫情前的運價。

Lastly, as I mentioned in our last Earnings Call, we are beginning to see consistency in our demand levels post pandemic and therefore, continue to evaluate the return of our annual financial outlook with the release of our fourth quarter earnings in February.

最後，正如我在上次財報電話會議中提到的那樣，我們開始看到大流行後需求水平的一致性，因此，隨著2 月發布的第四季度收益的發布，我們將繼續評估我們的年度財務前景的回報。

And with that, I will turn the call back to the operator and ask your questions.

然後，我會將電話轉回接線生並詢問您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from Jack Atkins of Stephens.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自史蒂芬斯的傑克·阿特金斯。

Congratulations on just executing really well in this tough environment. So I guess, Matt, if I could maybe kind of start with your -- one of your closing comments there, which is around fourth quarter consolidated operating income being above the first quarter. I guess, directionally, that helps a lot. But I guess when I go back and think about kind of normal seasonality sort of pre-COVID, third quarter to fourth quarter typically saw earnings decline, call it, 45% or 50%, something like that, just with normal seasonality. Would there be any reason why you would expect this year to be materially different? If so, could you maybe kind of help us think of the puts and takes there?

恭喜您在這個艱難的環境中表現出色。所以我想，馬特，我可以從您的結束語開始，即第四季度的綜合營業收入高於第一季。我想，從方向上來說，這有很大幫助。但我想，當我回過頭來思考新冠疫情之前的正常季節性時，第三季度到第四季的盈利通常會下降，稱之為45% 或50%，類似的情況，只是正常的季節性。您是否有任何理由認為今年會出現重大差異？如果是這樣，您能否幫助我們考慮那裡的看漲期權和看跌期權？

Yes, sure. I'd be happy to try to do that, Jack. So I would say, firstly, we still do expect the seasonality that we saw pre-pandemic return. And so -- and as we -- as you know, in our business, the second and third quarters are our busiest and our fourth and first are weaker, just because of the amount of cargo in the market given the seasonality of purchasing and holiday periods in our market. It always has been and it always will be that way to a certain extent.

是的，當然。我很樂意嘗試這樣做，傑克。所以我想說，首先，我們仍然預計大流行前的季節性會回歸。因此，正如我們所知，在我們的業務中，第二季度和第三季度是我們最繁忙的，第四季度和第一季度比較疲軟，這只是因為考慮到採購和假期的季節性，市場上的貨物量很大我們市場的時期。某種程度上，過去一直如此，將來也永遠如此。

But one of the verticals, Jack, that might be just a bit different coming out of the pandemic and going in, as we've talked about this on last quarter's call was the growth in e-commerce. And there's an element we believe, although we don't know exactly what it is yet, but there -- some of that e-commerce moves year round. There's less seasonal pattern. It's recurring items that people purchase rather than holiday gifts or back-to-school or a seasonal element to it.

但傑克，其中一個垂直行業在疫情爆發後和進入時可能會有所不同，正如我們在上個季度的電話會議上討論過的那樣，電子商務的增長。我們相信有一個因素，雖然我們還不知道它到底是什麼，但其中一些電子商務全年都會改變。季節性模式較少。這是人們經常購買的商品，而不是節日禮物或返校或季節性元素。

And so that may explain why we -- the difference is both, frankly, in our fourth and first quarters may not be as seasonal as we've seen pre-pandemic, but we still overall affect the seasonality pattern to remain pre- and post-pandemic, if that helps.

因此，這可以解釋為什麼我們 - 坦率地說，第四季度和第一季度的差異可能不像大流行前那樣季節性，但我們仍然總體上影響季節性模式以保持之前和之後-流行病，如果有幫助的話。

Okay. So if anything, maybe there's a little bit less seasonality. And I understand we're still trying to understand what the new normal looks like, but perhaps maybe there's a little bit less seasonality in the business going forward than there has been in the past just based on that from an e-commerce factor.

好的。因此，如果有什麼不同的話，也許季節性因素會少一些。據我所知，我們仍在努力了解新常態是什麼樣子，但也許未來業務的季節性可能比過去僅基於電子商務因素的季節性要少一些。

That's right. Yes.

這是正確的。是的。

Okay. Got it. That's helpful. I'd also love to maybe touch on a comment that you made, Matt, around the kind of the thoughts around the 2024 Transpacific trade. I think one of the questions we get a lot is just folks kind of trying to understand what's happening with inventory balances and have we kind of reached a new normal from an inventory destocking perspective.

好的。知道了。這很有幫助。馬特，我還想談談您對 2024 年跨太平洋貿易的想法發表的評論。我認為我們經常遇到的問題之一是人們試圖了解庫存平衡發生了什麼，以及我們是否從庫存去庫存的角度達到了新常態。

I guess, what are your customers telling you about how to think about that going into next year? It sounds like they're expecting relatively stable volume, but do you feel like we're kind of through the destocking phase of this last, call it, year, 1.5 years?

我想，您的客戶告訴您如何考慮明年的情況？聽起來他們預期銷量會相對穩定，但你是否覺得我們已經經歷了最後（1.5 年）的去庫存階段？

Yes. I'm going to answer that in two ways, Jack. To answer your question directly, we are hearing from many of our customers that this inventory overhang that they had when there was a very sharp decline in the year ago period. Most of our retailers have worked through those inventories. And so now there are exceptions, and there are SKUs or product lines that they are still surplus on. But our general feeling is that retailers have done a really good job of working through their overhang.

是的。我將從兩個方面回答這個問題，傑克。為了直接回答您的問題，我們從許多客戶那裡得知，去年同期庫存急劇下降時，他們的庫存積壓了。我們的大多數零售商都已經處理過這些庫存。所以現在也有例外，有些 SKU 或產品線仍然過剩。但我們的整體感覺是，零售商在解決懸而未決的問題上做得非常好。

But the other context point here at the risk of over answering your question, Jack, is where -- from our perspective, how we see the Transpacific market. And in our prepared comments, we refer to 2019 as a benchmark, the world changed over the last few years. And so if you look at the imports into the United States for the first 9 months of 2023, compare that to the first 9 months of 2019, and cargo volumes into the United States, both East Coast, West Coast, from all foreign origins is close to 7% higher than 2019.

但傑克，這裡的另一個背景問題是，從我們的角度來看，我們如何看待跨太平洋市場。在我們準備好的評論中，我們將 2019 年作為基準，過去幾年世界發生了變化。因此，如果您查看 2023 年前 9 個月的美國進口量，將其與 2019 年前 9 個月進行比較，您會發現來自所有外國來源的美國東海岸和西海岸的貨運量比2019 年高出近7%。

So while it's true that there were significant declines in the year-over-year period and when and how we lap the bad news, just from a context standpoint, when we talk about seeing a new normal and are we there? We see the inventories have largely been absorbed these excess inventories to your first part of your question.

因此，儘管同比確實出現了顯著下降，而且我們何時以及如何接受壞消息，但僅從背景的角度來看，當我們談論看到新常態時，我們真的到了嗎？我們看到庫存大部分已被吸收到您問題的第一部分。

And we see growth from that those levels. So it's just another data point in our own thinking about us having reach an equilibrium and it's also why we think that 2024 is going to look a lot like 2023, given those underlying factors. So just again, at the risk of over answering your question, I wanted to provide some context into our thinking.

我們從這些水平上看到了增長。因此，這只是我們自己關於我們已達到平衡的想法中的另一個數據點，這也是我們認為考慮到這些潛在因素，2024 年將與 2023 年非常相似的原因。所以，再次，冒著過度回答你的問題的風險，我想為我們的想法提供一些背景。

No, that's really helpful. Maybe one more for me, and I'll hand it back and jump back in queue, just to make sure everyone can jump in.

不，這真的很有幫助。也許再給我一份，我會把它還給我，然後插回隊列，只是為了確保每個人都能加入。

But I guess we think about we're trying to kind of frame up the "new normal" one area of the business that's underperforming relative to pre-COVID, the SSAT joint venture. And obviously, it had some really good years there during the supply chain disruption but it's losing a little bit of money now on a quarterly basis. How do you think about the normalized earnings power for that part of your business?

但我想我們正在嘗試建立“新常態”，這一業務領域相對於新冠疫情之前的 SSAT 合資企業表現不佳。顯然，在供應鏈中斷期間，它度過了一些非常好的年份，但現在按季度計算，它正在虧損一點錢。您如何看待您這部分業務的標準化獲利能力？

And I guess what level of import activity do we need to see to be able to get back to a stable level of profitability there, do you think? I know you don't own that asset outright. I'm just trying to kind of get a gauge for that.

我想我們需要看到什麼水平的進口活動才能恢復到穩定的盈利水平，您認為呢？我知道你並不完全擁有該資產。我只是想對此有個衡量標準。

Yes. So first, I'll say firstly that we're going to have more to say about that in our year-end earnings call, but I can give you my thoughts at this point. So 2023 has -- we don't think not been a year yet of normalization in the joint venture. I think we'll see a normalization occurring in 2024. And there were a couple of reasons for that.

是的。首先，我首先要說的是，我們將在年終財報電話會議上對此進行更多討論，但此時我可以告訴您我的想法。因此，我們認為 2023 年還不是合資企業正常化的一年。我認為我們會在 2024 年看到正常化。這有幾個原因。

First of all, this inventory overhang that put -- in the year ago period, a lot less cargo into the overall market has been impacted. But we also had a couple of other factors that we think were suppressing volumes during that period. One was the ILWU contract that was, as you know, extended -- finally now has been ratified and in place. And we think that cargo was diverted as our customers kind of derisked by bringing cargo either through the Suez all-water route from Asia or in the Panama Canal.

首先，庫存過剩導致去年同期進入整個市場的貨物數量大幅減少，受到了影響。但我們認為還有其他一些因素抑制了該時期的交易量。其中之一是 ILWU 合同，如您所知，該合約已延長，現在終於得到批准並生效。我們認為貨物被轉移，因為我們的客戶通過蘇伊士全水路航線從亞洲或巴拿馬運河運送貨物，從而規避了風險。

But for 2024, I think there's a couple of things that should happen. First of all, the inventory overhang will be largely behind us. There are some issues with the Panama Canal that with regard to the drought, which is causing on the margin of reduction of effective capacity for the U.S. Panama all-water services from Asia.

但對於 2024 年，我認為應該會發生一些事情。首先，庫存積壓將在很大程度上解決。巴拿馬運河存在一些與乾旱有關的問題，導緻美國巴拿馬從亞洲提供全水務服務的有效能力下降。

And then thirdly, there is a contract renewal for the ILA, which will occur in 2024 and some of the derisking that our customers did with the ILWU renewal in 2023, we think are likely to play and be a factor on the margin, again, derisking.

第三，ILA 的合約將於 2024 年續約，我們的客戶在 2023 年續約 ILWU 時採取的一些去風險措施，我們認為可能會發揮作用，並再次成為影響利潤的一個因素，去風險化。

Those are, I think, factors that are going to allow a more normal level of performance in 2024 for the SSAT joint venture, but obviously not at levels, pandemic-area levels where there was significant cargo that was on the terminals and unable to be picked up by their customers because their warehouses were full. So you would probably want to look back to an earlier year of SSAT profitability pre-pandemic, and I don't have those numbers in front of me. And again, we'll have more to say about that in the next quarter's call.

我認為，這些因素將使 SSAT 合資企業在 2024 年實現更正常的業績水平，但顯然達不到疫情流行地區的水平，即碼頭上有大量貨物無法運輸。因為他們的倉庫已滿，所以被客戶提貨。因此，您可能想回顧一下大流行前 SSAT 盈利能力的前一年，但我面前沒有這些數據。同樣，我們將在下個季度的電話會議中對此進行更多討論。

And our next question will come from Jacob Lacks of Wolfe Research.

我們的下一個問題將來自沃爾夫研究中心的雅各布·拉克斯。

So your China volumes took another step up to around 39,000 containers this quarter. So it seems like you're tracking well above the 120,000 to 130,000 annual run rate you gave a couple of quarters ago. Is this sustainable? Or how should we think about these moving forward?

因此，本季你們在中國的銷售量又進一步上升至約 39,000 個貨櫃。因此，您的年運行率似乎遠高於幾個季度前給出的 120,000 至 130,000 次。這是可持續的嗎？或者說我們該如何思考這些事情的進展？

Yes, Jacob, it's Joel. It was a strong quarter for us, but we still think there will be seasonality. So the fourth quarter will have some light periods of time relative to the third quarter. So I would say don't just take our 39,000 for the third quarter of [multiple items] something near 4 and assume that's the annual rate.

是的，雅各布，我是喬爾。這對我們來說是一個強勁的季度，但我們仍然認為會有季節性。因此，相對於第三季度，第四季將會有一些清淡的時間段。所以我想說，不要僅僅將第三季的[多項] 39,000 接近 4 的數字並假設這就是年率。

So we're still sticking with the 120 to 130 total volume for the -- 120,000 to 130,000 for the whole year. We'll see how the fourth quarter plays out. And if we feel like adjusting that in 2024 basis, we can talk about that in February. But definitely caution, that's not going to be the run rate every quarter.

因此，我們仍然堅持全年 12 萬到 13 萬輛的總量。我們拭目以待第四季的表現如何。如果我們想在 2024 年的基礎上進行調整，我們可以在 2 月討論。但絕對要小心，這不會是每季的運行率。

Sounds good. And then it looks like share repurchases a little in the quarter. I guess, how should we think about the cadence there moving forward?

聽起來不錯。然後看起來本季會進行一些股票回購。我想，我們該如何看待未來的節奏？

Yes. I mean we're going to continue to be steady buyers. And so if you -- I would look at our last 12 months, 9 months through the course of the year, that's probably a decent run rate for us on an annual basis. And there'll be sometimes we're up a little bit, down a little bit on that. So I wouldn't read much into it. But other than just we're encouraging all investors to take a long-term view. Our view is long term, and we want to be steady on a long-term basis.

是的。我的意思是我們將繼續成為穩定的買家。因此，如果你 - 我會看看我們過去 12 個月，全年 9 個月，這對我們來說可能是一個不錯的年度運行率。有時我們會在這方面有所上升或下降。所以我不會讀太多。但除此之外，我們也鼓勵所有投資人採取長遠眼光。我們的眼光是長遠的，我們希望長期保持穩定。

Okay. And then one last one for me. I know you aren't giving guidance today, but if the 2024 trade dynamic is similar to 2023, does that mean Matson's earnings should be stable? Or are there some puts and takes for Matt specifically that you're able to call out?

好的。然後是最後一張給我的。我知道您今天沒有提供指導，但如果 2024 年的貿易動態與 2023 年類似，這是否意味著 Matson 的收益應該穩定？或者您可以特別針對 Matt 提出一些建議？

Yes. We haven't put all of our own thoughts yet together, frankly, on '24. We did comment that we think that the Transpacific trade and one of our more important drivers of earnings is going to be look a lot like it did this year, which was, frankly, pretty good. We talked about the beginning of a normalization of SSAT or joint venture that will be up. There could be others that are down, but we're saying we'll have more to say.

是的。坦白說，我們還沒有把我們所有的想法放在一起，關於「24」。我們確實評論說，我們認為跨太平洋貿易和我們更重要的盈利驅動力之一將看起來很像今年，坦率地說，這相當不錯。我們談到了 SSAT 正常化的開始或即將成立的合資企業。可能還會有其他人倒閉，但我們說我們還有更多要說的。

I don't know, Joel, would you add anything to that?

我不知道，喬爾，你能補充什麼嗎？

Yes. Exactly. There will be some pieces up and down a little bit. But overall, we're saying it's shaping up to be a year that looks similar to 2023. And we made that comment specific to operating income.

是的。確切地。會有一些部分向上和向下一點。但總體而言，我們認為今年將與 2023 年類似。我們的評論是針對營業收入的。

And our next question will come from Ben Nolan of Stifel.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Stifel 的 Ben Nolan。

I have a handful. I wanted to circle back on the China volumes. And Joel, I appreciate that it's seasonal, always is. But I think, Matt, you made a comment in the prepared remarks when referencing the CLX that there was greater capacity on it. I was curious if you could flesh that out a little bit in terms of -- are you now, I don't know, given the chartered in vessels or whatever, you're now able to carry a little bit more than you had been able to?

我有一把。我想回顧一下中國卷。喬爾，我很欣賞它是季節性的，而且一直都是。但我認為，馬特，您在提到 CLX 時在準備好的評論中評論說它的容量更大。我很好奇你是否可以在以下方面具體化一點——我不知道，考慮到包租的船隻或其他什麼，你現在可以攜帶比以前多一點的東西嗎？能夠？

Ben, it's Joel. It's not -- no, it's not significantly different. What happens sometimes in any given quarter, when you have 12 or 13 sailings, you may have a couple of your larger ships that hit twice or even 3x versus the smaller ships. So from an overall quarter basis, we don't expect it to be significantly different. Where we're at today is we have five ships on charter today, four are similar size, one slightly larger of those four, but then we have a fifth ship that's a little bit smaller.

本，這是喬爾。這不是——不，這沒有顯著的不同。有時在任何特定季度會發生什麼，當您有 12 或 13 次航行時，您可能會有幾艘較大的船隻與較小的船隻相比，撞到的船隻是兩倍甚至 3 倍。因此，從整體季度來看，我們預計不會有顯著差異。我們今天的情況是，我們今天包租了五艘船，其中四艘大小相似，其中一艘稍大，但我們還有第五艘船稍小一些。

So it oftentimes depends on how often that smaller ship hits in any given quarter. I'll also note that we chartered a sixth ship that we'll take on here in a few weeks to have an additional ship to maintain the highest level of on-time performance that we can. And that larger sixth ship will be similar size to the other four. So I think any given quarter, the capacity is going to really blow down to how many times that smaller ship sails in a 12- or 13-week quarter.

因此，這通常取決於較小的船隻在任何特定季度撞擊的頻率。我還要指出的是，我們租用了第六艘船，幾週後我們將在這裡接收一艘額外的船，以盡可能保持最高水準的準點率。那艘較大的第六艘船的大小將與其他四艘船相似。因此，我認為在任何特定季度，運力都會真正下降到小型船舶在 12 或 13 週季度內航行的次數。

Okay. So well, with that, two things, first of all, adding a sixth ship, I would assume if you're not releasing one or even if the one that you're chartering is a little bit bigger, should add capacity. So as long as there's demand that 120 to 130 should have some upside. Is that fair?

好的。好吧，有兩件事，首先，增加第六艘船，我認為如果你不釋放一艘，或者即使你租用的那艘稍微大一點，也應該增加運力。所以只要有需求，120到130應該還有一些上漲空間。這樣公平嗎？

And then along those lines, how much of that Shanghai-based expedited market, do you think that you've captured right now? And is there room to go if you did have a little bit more capacity?

那麼，沿著這些思路，您認為您現在已經佔據了上海加急市場的多少份額？如果您的容量確實多一點，還有空間嗎？

Yes, Ben, this is Matt. So to the two parts of your question, the sixth ship we're adding is primarily intended to be used to always have a ship to be able to sail on time regardless of if there's a weather event or a port closure. So it's really more about ensuring we have the sum -- the same number of sailings. And so the primary purpose is not to get an extra 6 or 10 voyages in the year. But rather to ensure that the 52 voyages we have are nearly perfect. And so it's really more of an insurance policy so that we can look at our customers in the eye and say we have a reserve ship.

是的，本，這是馬特。因此，對於你問題的兩個部分，我們添加的第六艘船主要是為了讓一艘船始終能夠準時航行，無論是否出現天氣事件或港口關閉。因此，更重要的是確保我們擁有相同的航行次數。因此，主要目的不是在一年內獲得額外的 6 或 10 次航行。而是要確保我們的52次航行近乎完美。所以這實際上更像是一份保險單，這樣我們就可以直視客戶的眼睛並說我們有一艘儲備船。

We're not going to have a missed voyage, and we're sort of taking the exact office attack that the rest of the market seems to be taking. So just to clarify that one aspect of the question.

我們不會錯過航行，而且我們正在接受市場其他公司似乎正在採取的確切辦公室攻擊。只是為了澄清問題的一方面。

And then, Joel, do you want to comment on the second part of the question?

然後，喬爾，你想對問題的第二部分發表評論嗎？

Yes. And also, Ben, the comment I was making and because you asked about the charters that was all specific to CLX+, is five and six ships. But the same is true on our regular CLX service with our Jones Act. Not all those five ships have the same capacity either. And we have sometimes a smaller vessel. So it also -- the same point about the capacity and number of sailings for the smaller vessels in any quarter can skew the capacity, both for CLX and CLX+.

是的。另外，Ben，我發表的評論是因為您詢問了針對 CLX+ 的包機，所以我的評論是五艘和六艘船。但根據《瓊斯法案》，我們的常規 CLX 服務也是如此。這五艘船也並非都具有相同的容量。有時我們有一艘較小的船。因此，任何季度小型船舶的運力和航行次數的相同點都會影響 CLX 和 CLX+ 的運力。

Right. And with respect to the amount of the market share that you think that you've captured?

正確的。您認為自己已經佔據了多少市場份額？

Yes. I think we're very focused on that expedited market share each week coming out of Shanghai. We still feel like our -- the CLX and CLX+ service is the number one and number two service is capturing the majority of that but not all of that. But we do believe we've got the majority of the expedited freight out of Ningbo, Shanghai on a weekly basis.

是的。我認為我們非常關注每週從上海出來的快速市場份額。我們仍然認為，CLX 和 CLX+ 服務是第一，第二的服務佔據了大部分，但不是全部。但我們確實相信，我們每週都會從寧波、上海運送大部分加急貨物。

And then Joel, I was going to ask on the $119 million tax refund. We've been kind of waiting on that for a while. Do you have any clarity, I mean do you expect it by the end of the year? Or is there some sort of dispute associated with that?

然後喬爾，我要問 1.19 億美元的退稅。我們已經等了一段時間了。您是否有任何明確的了解，我的意思是您預計在今年年底之前實現嗎？或者是否存在與此相關的某種爭議？

No, there's -- I can't say -- we don't know when we're going to get it. We do still have the highest level of confidence that we will get it whether it comes before the year-end or not, we just don't know.

不，我不能說，我們不知道什麼時候能得到它。我們仍然非常有信心，無論它是否在年底之前到來，我們都會得到它，只是我們不知道。

Our understanding it's just taking time to process it within the IRS. It's related we think to the CCF deposits that we made that we've talked about that was $565 million last year. So it's a tax-effected amount there. And because that doesn't show up in the automated IRS systems, it has to be done manually, and it's just taking time for them to review and make that adjustment manually is our understanding.

我們的理解是，國稅局只是需要時間來處理它。我們認為這與去年我們討論過的 5.65 億美元的 CCF 存款有關。所以這是一個受稅收影響的金額。因為這不會出現在自動化的國稅局系統中，所以必須手動完成，我們的理解是，他們只是需要時間來手動審查和進行調整。

So if we're waiting on the IRS, it could be a few more years, got it. Just kidding there for technical purposes. Two more, if you'll indulge me. I was going to ask -- I know there was a reengineering switching over to LNG of some of the ships and we haven't really heard much about that lately. Just curious how that process is going and how you're thinking about the learnings from that.

所以如果要等國稅局，可能還要再等幾年，懂了。只是出於技術目的開玩笑。如果你願意的話，還有兩個。我本來想問——我知道一些船舶進行了重新設計，改用液化天然氣，但我們最近並沒有真正聽說過這件事。只是好奇這個過程是如何進行的以及您如何思考從中學到的東西。

This is Matt, Ben. So the first vessel that we have installed LNG on that it's now operating on LNG is the Daniel K. Inouye. And it was -- it went through a conversion process, adding tanks and manifolds and all that. As you know, the engine was already set to consume or burn LNG fuel when we ordered it. So that vessel is out, and it's on way.

這是馬特，本。因此，我們第一艘安裝了 LNG 且目前使用 LNG 運行的船舶是 Daniel K. Inouye。它經歷了一個轉換過程，添加了儲罐和歧管等等。如您所知，當我們訂購時，引擎已經設定為消耗或燃燒液化天然氣燃料。那艘船已經出海，正在路上。

The second vessel that's going to go through a gas conversion or a gas and engine conversion is in the shipyard now. And we have another vessel going in next year in 2024. We'll talk more about the timing of that. But we're very much underway with our conversion projects in addition to the three new vessels that are not yet cutting steel, but that will be delivered in a couple of years. Those will also be LNG ready. So we do have -- the plan is rolling out just the way we expected and the timing very consistent with our original timing on the conversions.

第二艘即將進行氣體改造或氣體和發動機改造的船隻現已在造船廠。我們還有另一艘船將於明年 2024 年投入使用。我們將更多地討論具體時間。但除了尚未切割鋼材但將在幾年內交付的三艘新船外，我們的改造項目正在順利進行中。這些也將準備好液化天然氣。所以我們確實有 - 該計劃正在按照我們預期的方式推出，並且時間與我們最初的轉換時間非常一致。

And then lastly, I was going to ask, as it relates to Hawaii -- and obviously, there's the horrendous strategy in Maui. As we think about that longer term and is this something that just purely from a freight and volume perspective that could actually lift volumes for you guys as rebuilding happens and so forth. And in the near term, there are some headwinds from tourism, but just trying to think through what might be the volume impacts of that for you?

最後，我想問，因為這與夏威夷有關 - 顯然，毛伊島有可怕的策略。當我們考慮更長期的情況時，這純粹是從貨運和運量的角度來看，隨著重建等的發生，實際上可以為你們增加運量。短期內，旅遊業會遇到一些阻力，但想想這對您來說可能會產生什麼影響？

And it's a sensitive subject because, obviously, we're focused on the tragedy and wish it never happened. But in the short term, I think you've got it right. It's going to be a situation where in the near term, there are some headwinds and -- but over the longer term, and the rebuild process we expect, as we mentioned in our prepared comments, the recovery will occur in the medium term, the rebuilding could occur over the longer term.

這是一個敏感話題，因為顯然，我們關注這場悲劇並希望它永遠不會發生。但從短期來看，我認為你是對的。這將是一種情況，在短期內，會出現一些阻力，但從長遠來看，正如我們在準備好的評論中提到的那樣，我們預計重建過程將在中期出現復甦，重建可能會在較長時期內進行。

So, but eventually, I think there will be a rebuild. I know the residents in Maui and the leadership in Maui wants it to be rebuilt, and that will translate into freight volumes at some point into the future.

所以，但最終，我認為將會有重建。我知道毛伊島的居民和毛伊島的領導層希望重建它，這將在未來的某個時候轉化為貨運量。

Got it. All right. Well, again, thanks for letting me go four, five, I appreciate it, and good quarter, guys.

知道了。好的。好吧，再次感謝你讓我去四、五，我很感激，祝大家好。

(Operator Instructions) And speakers, I am seeing no further questions in the queue. I would now like to turn the conference back to the CEO, Matt Cox for closing remarks.

（操作員說明）各位發言者，我在隊列中沒有看到更多問題。現在我想請執行長 Matt Cox 致閉幕詞。

Okay. Thanks, operator. Thanks for listening in on our call today. We look very much forward to seeing everyone on our year-end call. Aloha.

好的。謝謝，接線生。感謝您今天收聽我們的電話。我們非常期待在年終電話會議上見到大家。阿囉哈。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect, and have a pleasant day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的參與。您現在可以斷開連接，並度過愉快的一天。