Ocean-freight shipping company Matson Inc. MATX on Wednesday reported a preliminary fourth-quarter profit that was below expectations, as a drop-off in demand for goods leads to a drop-off in demand for the companies that ship them on the water. The Honolulu-based company, whose container ships and other vessels sail between the West Coast and Asia, said it expected to earn between $1.88 and $2.01 a share for the fourth quarter. The three analysts tracked by FactSet expected $3.27 a share. Shares fell 1.2% after hours on Wednesday. “Currently in the Transpacific marketplace, business conditions remain challenging as retailers continue to right-size inventories amidst weakening consumer demand, increasing interest rates and economic uncertainty,” Chief Executive Matt Cox said in a statement. He said he expected trade over the Pacific to improve in the second half of the year, barring a “hard landing” within the U.S. economy.Management has said it expects the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of this year “to be challenging in the Transpacific” as retailers change or pull back on the goods they order from overseas to adapt to lower demand.
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