Moving by Container With Matson

Moving by Container With Matson

Matson has more than 140 years of experience transporting cargo across the Pacific and has decades of experience with containerized moving for household goods. We've helped many U.S. military families with container moving across the Pacific for their personally procured move (PPM or DITY) too. We understand how complex household moves can be. Let our experts help you arrange the ocean transportation of your household goods container.

Read below to learn:

  • About port to port household goods container shipping.
  • How to choose which container size is right for shipping your household goods.
  • What payment types Matson accepts.
  • How to receive a container to start loading and packing.
  • How to deliver your container to the origin port.
  • How to retrieve your container at its destination port.
  • Which ports Matson serves.

Call our account specialists at 1-800-4MATSON to get a free quote and learn about shipping household goods or fill out our request-an-estimate form; for Alaska moves, please contact Alaska Customer Service at alaskacs@matson.com or call 1-877-678-7447.


Moving Container Costs and Payment

Shipping your household goods in fully protected steel-constructed ocean containers will help protect your valuables during ocean transit. You pack the container with your household goods and we ship it across the Pacific to your port.

Our rates are calculated on a per-container basis. The cost of shipping household goods depends on the overall length of the ocean container you choose. Matson offers port to port service for your household goods.

Port to Port: You arrange your own trucking to and from the ports, and Matson will manage the ocean transit part of your move between the mainland and Hawaii.

Matson affords you the opportunity to ship your car or boat with your household goods in the same moving container, or you may deliver your car directly to our port facility. Shipping your car or boat in your household goods container may require an additional charge. To learn more about shipping your car port to port independently of your household goods click here.

To obtain a free estimate for your container move, please complete our request-an-estimate form online or call our account specialist at 1-800-4MATSON; for Alaska moves, please contact Alaska Customer Service at alaskacs@matson.com or call 1-877-678-7447.

Booking Acknowledgment Form You will be required to sign an acknowledgment form at the time of booking. For Hawaii moves please click here to view the acknowledgment form. To download the acknowledgment form for Alaska moves please click here.

Once you book your move with our account specialists, payment must be received prior to the delivery of empty equipment and subsequent delivery to port. Your shipment booking number must be noted on your payment.

Our account specialists can take your credit card payment over the phone or you can mail your payment to Matson Navigation Accounts Receivable at 426 N 44th Street, Suite 250, Phoenix, Arizona 85008. Payments are also accepted at the port. The following payment methods are accepted:

  • Cashiers check
  • Travelers check
  • Bank or postal money order
  • Cash
  • Credit card - Master Card, VISA, Discover, or American Express. Cardholder must be present if paying at the port.
  • Sorry, no personal checks are accepted

How to Choose the Right Shipping Container Size for Your Movebacktop

Matson offers Full Container Load service (FCL) and will provide you with a clean, empty ocean moving container for loading your personal household goods.

As a point of reference, the furnishings of an average 3-bedroom home will likely fill a 20-foot container. Please measure all your furniture, boxes, and other cargoes to determine the container that will meet your need.

You, as the shipper, are responsible for packing, loading, and securing your personal household goods in the container. Moving container size availability varies by port of origin and final destination. While moving containers vary slightly in size, these are the inside measurements of our four basic container sizes for Hawaii, Guam, and Alaska:

Inside Length:
Inside Width:
Inside Height:
Door Opening:
Cubic Capacity:
19'4"
7'6"
7'8"
7'6"W x 7'4"H
1,172 ft.
Inside Length:
Inside Width:
Inside Height:
Door Opening:
Cubic Capacity:
39'6"
7'9"
7'10"
7'8"W x 7'6"H
2,387 ft.
Inside Length:
Inside Width:
Inside Height:
Door Opening:
Cubic Capacity:
39'5"
7'8"
8'10"
7'8"W x 8'6"H
2,686 ft.
Inside Length:
Inside Width:
Inside Height:
Door Opening:
Cubic Capacity:
44'5"
7'6"
8'10"
7'8"W x 8'6"H
3,030 ft.
Container cubic capacity is determined by multiplying the inside length x width x height in inches and dividing that sum by 1728 (the number of cubic inches in one cubic foot).

 


Obtaining Your Moving Container For Loadingbacktop

To receive a moving container for loading arrange for a Uniform Intermodal Interchange Agreement (UIIA) approved trucking company to pick up a Matson container, deliver the container to your home, and pick it up after you have loaded your personal household goods.

The moving container will be delivered to you on a chassis (wheels) raising the container floor about four to five feet above the ground. Matson does not provide ramps or lift-gates, tie-downs, or packing materials for loading.

When you coordinate your trucking, please be sure to ask the trucking company if they are a UIIA approved carrier. If they are unsure about their interchange status, please have them contact the UIIA at 1-877-438-8442 or visit the UIIA web-site at www.uiia.org.

Trucking charges must be paid directly to the trucking company you have chosen.

To avoid parking violations for a container parked on a public street overnight, we strongly advise that you check with your local city officials or police department for restrictions.


Moving Container Delivery At Origin Portbacktop

Once you have completed the loading of your container, please arrange with the UIIA certified trucking company of your choice to deliver the container to the Matson port for ocean transport.


Moving Container Pick-up At Destination Portbacktop

When our vessel arrives at its destination port, your personal household goods shipment will be discharged and placed in our container yard.  You or your designated trucker will be notified that the moving container is available for pickup.

Once your moving container is discharged from the vessel at the destination port, Matson allows you free time for use of the moving container.

  • On the mainland, Matson allows 96 hours free time to pick up, unload and return the moving container empty to the Matson container yard.
  • In Hawaii and Guam, Matson allows 10-days free time to pick up, unload, and return the moving container empty to the Matson container yard.
  • Free time in Hawaii begins with the first midnight following availability of your personal household goods shipment.

After the free time expires, daily port storage or container detention charges will apply. When you arrange your trucking we highly recommend you have your trucker of choice pick up your personal household goods shipment within the allotted free time to avoid daily fees.

For questions about moves to or from Hawaii, Mainland or Guam, please contact our account specialists at 1-800-4MATSON or click here.  For Alaska moves, please contact our Alaska Customer Service Center at alaskacs@matson.com or call 1-877-678-7447.


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Mainland:
Full Container-load service is offered to or from Long Beach*, Oakland and Tacoma.
Hawaii:
Full Container-load service is offered to or from Honolulu, Hilo, Kawaihae, Kahului, Nawiliwili, Molokai, and Lanai. Please allow about a week for empty equipment to become available for shipments from Molokai and Lanai.
Guam:
Full Container-load service is offered to and from Guam, Saipan, Palau, Yap, Chuuk, and Pohnpei.
Alaska:
Full Container-load service is offered to and from Tacoma, WA, Anchorage, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor, AK.

*Effective April 1, 2022, all containerized cargo moving through the Port of Long Beach will be assessed a Clean Truck Fee of $10.00 for D20 and $20.00 for D40/D45H per container. Private individuals are not permitted to pay the Clean Truck Fee directly and must hire a trucking company that will claim and pay this fee on your behalf. Please note that this is not a Matson fee and is in addition to any quoted or freight bill amounts. Your containers will not be accepted or released at the Port of Long Beach if your trucking company has not claimed and paid this fee.