Hawaii’s Top Freight Forwarder

Five Hawaii Terminals – The Key to Seamless Freight Forwarding Across Hawaii

As the only Hawaii freight forwarding company with terminals on all major Hawaii Islands, we can save you time, effort, and money in Hawaii. Whether you are shipping freight to Oahu or one of the neighboring islands we deliver the best-in-class service to Hawaii. With terminals, teams, and resources in Honolulu, Hilo, Kona, Kahului, and Lihue, we are your freight forwarder that can get freight anywhere it needs to go in Hawaii—fast.

As the only Hawaii freight forwarding company with terminals on all major Hawaii Islands, we can save you time, effort, and money in Hawaii. Whether you are shipping freight to Oahu or one of the neighboring islands we deliver the best-in-class service to Hawaii. With terminals, teams, and resources in Honolulu, Hilo, Kona, Kahului, and Lihue, we can get your freight anywhere it needs to go in Hawaii—fast.

Hawaii Freight Forwarder on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island

Hawaii Freight Forwarder on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island

Get fast and cost-effective freight forwarding service anywhere in Hawaii with Approved. With twice-weekly sailings direct to Oahu, the Big Island, Maui, and Kauai—plus terminals on each island—we’ll help you create new efficiencies and cost savings that no other company can match.

In addition to ocean freight (FCL, LCL) and air freight solutions, we also offer trucking throughout the mainland and Hawaii, and warehousing services to keep your freight moving effectively and efficiently.

Discover more about our Hawaii terminals and fleets, including the services we offer on each island:

Get fast and cost-effective freight service anywhere in Hawaii with Approved. With twice-weekly sailings direct to Oahu, the Big Island, Maui, and Kauai—plus terminals on each island—we’ll help you create new efficiencies and cost savings that no other company can match.

In addition to ocean freight (FCL, LCL) and air freight solutions, we also offer trucking throughout the mainland and Hawaii, and warehousing services to keep your supply chain moving effectively and efficiently.

Discover more about our Hawaii terminals and fleets, including the services we offer on each island:

Honolulu

Oahu

Kailua-Kona

Big Island

Hilo

Big Island

Kahului

Maui

Lihue

Kauai

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Oahu Freight Forwarding – Honolulu Terminal

Honolulu Harbor handles more than 8 million tons of cargo annually. Our terminal is located just adjacent to the steamship line terminals so we can pick up your Honolulu-bound LCL and FCL ocean freight quickly and easily. We’re also just a quick hop from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), offering us easy access to incoming and outgoing Honolulu air freight.

Our Honolulu warehouse is centrally located to allow easy access to both the leeward and windward sides of Oahu, as well as downtown Honolulu.

Transit Time from the West Coast:

5 days

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Approved Freight Forwarders Oahu

2250 Alahao Place

Honolulu, HI 96819

(626) 605-1491

Maui Freight Forwarding – Kahului Terminal

Kahului is the commercial center of the Valley Isle, as well as home to its seaport and Kahului Airport (OGG).

Approved Freight’s Maui terminal is located just two miles from Kahului Harbor. This makes pick-up and drop-off of containers and Maui ocean freight consolidations a breeze. We offer drayage to and from Kahului Harbor, and we can deconsolidate Maui ocean freight at our modern, centrally-located facility to prep freight for its final destination. Plus, Mauiair cargo drop-off and pick-up is just a little over a mile from our terminal, offering easy access to inbound and outbound Maui air freight.

Transit Time from the West Coast:

7 days

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Approved Freight Forwarders Maui

400 Hana Hwy., Suite D

Kahului, HI 96732

(626) 605-1491

Kailua-Kona Freight Forwarding (Big Island)

Big Island ocean freight and charters are the bulk of the activity at Kawaihae Harbor.

Approved’s location is just down the Kona Coast from Kawaihae, on the way to downtown Kailua-Kona. We have trucks for drayage and delivery, a warehouse and team to transload your Big Island freight, and a support center to provide updates along the way. We’re also located right next to Kona International Airport (KOA) for quick pick-ups and drop-offs of Big Island air freight.

Transit Time from the West Coast:

7 – 9 days

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Approved Freight Forwarders Kona

73-5577 Lawehana Street Ste. 7

Kona, HI 96740

(626) 605-1491

Hilo Freight Forwarding (Big Island)

The port at Hilo Bay is a full-service commercial center. Cruise ships, inter-island Hawaii freight, and international cargo ships and containers all dock at this hub for Big Island ocean freight.

Approved Freight’s location is just a 15-minute drive

from Hilo Bay for easy container drayage from the port. We’re also equally close to Hilo International Airport (ITO) for Big Island air freight drop-offs and pick-ups.

Transit Time from the West Coast:

7 – 9 days

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Approved Freight Forwarders Hilo

Shipman Industrial Park

16-195 Wiliama Street

Keaau, HI 96749

(626) 605-1491

Kauai Freight Forwarding – Lihue Terminal

Lihue is home to Kauai’s main ocean freight port, Nawiliwili, as well as its international airport.

Our Approved facility is just three miles from Nawiliwili Harbor, making it easy for us to pick up and drop off Kauai ocean freight arriving via twice-weekly sails from California. Lihue Airport (LIH) is just a few miles farther, which means simple sending and receiving for Kauai air cargo.

Transit Time from the West Coast:

7 days

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Approved Freight Forwarders Kauai

Puhi Industrial Park

1675 Haleukana Street

Lihue, HI 96766

(626) 605-1491

Frequently Asked Questions About Hawaii Freight Forwarding

Mainland cargo bound for Hawaii moves via two modes of transport: ocean freight or air freight.

For ocean freight bound for Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, and Kauai, we offer two solutions:

Learn more about sending ocean freight to Hawaii.

  • Less-Than-Container Load (LCL) Shipments/Consolidations
  • Full Container Load (FCL)Shipments

Air freight from the mainland to Hawaii comes in several different service levels, which vary in pricing and speed.

Learn more about sending air freight to Hawaii.

A forwarding agent, also known as a freight forwarder, is a company that:

  • Receives freight from a shipper
  • Arranges for its transportation with one or more carriers to move that freight to its final destination.

Asset-based operations that own their own warehouses, run their own fleets, and employ their own delivery teams.

Operations that use agents. In other words, these providers contract out their Hawaii deliveries to their own partners in the Hawaiian Islands.

 

In Hawaii, Approved is the only asset-based freight forwarder that owns and operates its own terminals and equipment on all four major Hawaiian Islands: Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and both sides of the Big Island—Kona and Hilo.

This means we’re fully in control of our delivery schedules. In contrast, when forwarders use outside companies for delivery, they may end up at the mercy of those outside companies’ schedules. Because we own our own fleets, our customers get top priority when it comes to scheduling.

Additionally, being an asset-based provider means that we can deliver seamless experience from start to finish. You’ll deal with one point of contact, and you’ll always know exactly where your cargo is at all times.

In short, freight forwarding is a subset of logistics.

In the transportation industry, logistics covers the entire process of moving raw materials, supplies, and finished goods from their points of origin to their final destinations.

Freight forwarders play a role in this overall process by coordinating the movement of those raw materials, supplies, and finished goods with the carriers who move those items.

The term carrier refers to the company that actually moves freight.

A freight forwarder contracts with a carrier to move freight on behalf of its customer.

In the case of asset-based freight forwarders, they may also be considered the carrier if, at some point during the journey, they move freight using their own equipment.

For example, we act as a freight forwarder for our Hawaii-bound freight. We work with our customers to receive their freight and book reservations with the ocean freight carriers—the steamship lines that own the cargo ships that physically move the freight to Hawaii. If we also do the final delivery using one of our Approved trucks in Hawaii, Approved would be considered the carrier for that final leg of the journey

One other interesting distinction to note when it comes to Hawaii freight: Freight forwarders also organize consolidations, also known as less-than-container load (LCL) freight. To create a consolidated load, freight forwarders work with individual shippers who have smaller loads that aren’t large enough to fill an entire container. Forwarders receive these smaller loads, pack them all into a single container, and then ship the entire container to Hawaii. In contrast, steamship lines, the ocean freight carriers, do not offer this service.

A forwarding agent, also known as a freight forwarder, is a company that:

  • Ocean freight to Oahu takes 5 days from California to Honolulu
  • Ocean freight to Kona takes 7-9 days from California to Kawaihae
  • Ocean freight to Hilo takes 7-9 days from California to Hilo
  • Ocean freight to Maui takes 7 days from California to Kahului
  • Ocean freight to Kauai takes 7 days from California to Nawiliwili

Freight is unloaded and delivered 24-48 hours after the container is made available at the port.

 

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