The commerce city of Hilo was chartered and founded (est. 2790) by the Sugai Dai Ichizoku to aid in intercontinental and interstellar warehousing, transport, and distribution. The city serves as a central gathering point for the agriculture, consumer, and industrial goods, of the enormous continent of Tairiku and the overall planet of Nejiro, to be collected before being trans-shipped to the Spaceport (near the capitol city of Yousai), to the Enclave and beyond. Hilo is in the business of logistics and transport and moves approximately three hundred million tonnes (close to four trillion ryu in trade) of cargo annually. Freight , on Nejiro, and in Hilo in particular, is mostly shipped on barges, river junks, and inland marine freighters along a plentiful number of abundant rivers and canals, and by freight ships and container ships by sea, but cargo transport by train, air, small craft, and truck convoy is also in use. Local dropship traffic (e.g. Mule class dropship, Cargo King class dropship, Jumbo class dropship, and the rarely planetside Aqueduct class dropship and Mammoth class dropship) is generally limited to bi-weekly or monthly trips mostly from the Spaceport to ensure full loads of cargo and fuel efficiency, except for the occasional specialty or express shipments which use small craft and smaller dropship classes (e.g. Leopard-Cargo class dropship, Danais class dropship, Buccaneer class dropship, Czar class dropship, Princess-Cargo class dropship). Advantage Logistics (publicly traded 279.3 Ryu per share) is among Hilo's top companies and offers shipping services for sending freight anywhere with a reliable fleet of experienced carriers that operate to ensure shipments travel swiftly, safely, and arrive at their destination on time. Their logistics team leverages various distribution methods including cross-docking, overland trucking, railways air freight, inter-modal transport, waterways, ocean transport, and space transport; along with hazardous materials the company ships cargo containers, liquid and dry bulk materials, refrigerated goods, and makes freight shipments for the textile, chemical, oil and gas, retail, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and manufacturing industries from door to door, to and from aeroports, waterway ports, ocean ports, spaceports and intermodal and transloading facilities with twenty eight hour pickup, just in time delivery and other global and interstellar options may be easily arranged. The private Dangfeng Hangyun {eastwind shipping} (owned by the Rhee Dai Ichizoku) has a significant presence in the city and provides global and interstellar freight (largely agriculture) transport by sea, air, land, and space. Also prominent in the city are the private global logistics and shipping company Matson (owned by the Kasai Koichizoku) and Joryoku-sen {evergreen shipping} (owned by the Drake Consortium) that handles global and stellar freight. Phoenix Mercantile, Horizon Tradeships, and Neptune Orient Lines of the Sankaku also have more than a minor presence in the city.
Passengers are equally moved , mostly by rail - by the Rail Runner Express (public 88.8 Ryu per share) (with a road runner logo and mascot) a commuter and passenger rail system with both maglev and shinkansen lines carrying thousands of passengers daily throughout the Hilo metropolitan area, through the Eastern Desert province, and to the Hoshizora Chiku {starry sky district}, the Yushan {jade hills} and the Kuroi Oka {black hills} provinces; Ukabo Kumo {floating clouds} (publicly traded 72.57 Ryu per share) an executive class shinkansen rail system that serves the entire Eastern Desert province plus the Yushan, Kuroi Oka, and Annettai Heiya {subtropical plains} provinces; Kinki Sharyo {railroad vehicles} runs a shinkansen passenger and freight rail system throughout the Sharquin Kiso Yama {eastern foundation backbone mountains}, the Southern Steppe, and the Kiso Mountains provinces with additional stops in Madina, Baja, and Hilo; Hikari no Sokudo Tetsudosen {lightspeed railways} (owned by the Zakharovich Dai Ichizoku) offers economy and executive class shinkansen passenger and freight services across the continents of Tairiku and Shinrin and railways on many of the stellar bodies of the system; Nekehanga {mobility} (owned by the Palakiko Koichizoku of the Four Corners Zaibatsu) offers continental shinkansen passenger and freight services across Tairiku; Zheleznyye Dorogi {spirit railways} (owned by the Drake Consortium) offers intercontinental and stellar ralway services; Caledonian Railways (owned by the Sinclair Koichizoku) provides regional passengers and freight services in the Kiso Mountains province and continental freight services on Tairiku; Heritage Railways (owned by the Vasilievna Koichizoku) runs passenger services acrosss the continent of Tairiku; Red Rabbit Rail (owned by the Yakovich Koichizoku of the Four Corners Zaibatsu) runs skinkansen passenger and freight services across Tairiku; The Golden Chariot (owned by the Zakharovich Dai Ichizoku) provides executive and luxury class intercontinental shinkansen passenger services; Via Rail (a Fenix Consortium Crown Corporation company) the Nejiro public railway system provides (tourist, commuter, maglev, shinkansen, passenger,freight) intercontinental and stellar railway services; and Trinity Railways (owned by the Sugai Zaibatsu) operates maglev and shinkansen rail lines across Tairiku as well as intercontinental rail tunnels and railways on stellar domed cities, stations, and ports. Water taxis, ferries, and passenger barges are also very popular modes of transport over the rivers and canals in Hilo and throughout its metropolitan area and also across the vast and massive Nejiroan continent of Tairiku. The Hilo Canal system with its headquarters at the Hilo Inland Port links with the Dako Unga {serpentine canals}, the Ddraig Unga {dragon canals} (providing navigable waterway transport throughout the mountains, forests, and grasslands of the southern reaches of the continent of Tairiku), and the Reei Omorfa {flowing beautifully - providing waterway transport throughout the grasslands, hills, and mountains of the northern Tairiku continent} canal systems, which provides transport for passengers and freight across most of the city of Hilo and its metropolitan area. Bicycling is also a very common mode of transport across the city and there are a number of bicycle (manual and electric) retail and rental shops (especially popular with tourists and visitors as they easily enable sightseeing). There are a number of bicycle maintenance and repair companies, and bicycle accessory and safety equipment manufacturers operating in the city.
