A Matson ship arrives in Honolulu from the Port of Oakland.
Matson Navigation earned a fourth quarter operating profit of $13.5 million, which was down 36 percent from the $21.1 million it earned in the same quarter of 2008. Matson’s revenue slid by 2 percent to $234.8 million from $239.5 million in the previous year quarter due to lower yields in the China trade, lower fuel surcharges and lower container volumes in the Hawaii trade. The company said these negatives were partially offset by higher China and Guam service volumes, favorable yields in the Hawaii trade and higher Hawaii auto volumes.