BUSINESS BRIEFS
Matson reduces fuel surcharges
Advertiser staff
Matson said it is lowering its fuel surcharge by 4.5 percentage points for its Hawai'i service, from 37.5 to 33 percent effective Sunday as a result of declining fuel prices. It is the second consecutive decrease in two months.
The state's largest shipping company said it also is lowering the fuel surcharge on its Guam/CNMI and Micronesia service, by 4.5 percentage points, from 39 to 34.5 percent.
"Matson is pleased to be able make a second decrease in its fuel surcharge in less than a month's time," said Dave Hoppes, senior vice president, ocean services. "Following an extended period in which oil costs hit historical record highs, it is encouraging to see this downward trend continue to be reflected in the prices the company is now paying for bunker fuel."
For most customers, this represents a decrease in shipping costs ranging from $110 to $170 per container, Hoppes said. "We are hopeful this current trend will continue, resulting in further decreases. We will continue to monitor fuel costs and adjust the surcharge accordingly."
41 MAUI LU WORKERS WILL LOSE JOBS
Forty-one employees at the Maui Lu Hotel have been notified they will be laid off Nov. 10 because of a pending change in ownership at the Kihei property.
ResortQuest Hawaii told the employees Monday that the hotel owners are selling the property. As a result, the hotel will be closed at 5 p.m. Nov. 10 and all its employees will be laid off.
Hotel officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The Maui Lu hotel consists of low-rise structures that are spread across 28 acres of oceanfront property in Kihei.
AUTO GROUP ELECTS 2009 OFFICERS
The Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association elected officers and directors for 2009 at the association's annual meeting held recently at the Fairmont Kea Lani Resort on Maui.
Elected at the Oct. 3 event were: president, Stan Masamitsu; president-elect, Dennis Short; vice president, Nick Cutter; secretary, Joe Nicolai; treasurer, Ron Hansen; O'ahu directors, Bill van den Hurk, Eric Fukunaga, Morrie Stoebner and Jack Jackson; at-large directors, Fletcher Jones III; and John Uekawa; and immediate past president, Wayne De Luz.
Also sworn in were directors previously elected by dealer members on their respective islands: Maui director, Damien Farias; Hawai'i director, Alan Clark; and Kaua'i director, James Hanley.
HADA represents Hawai'i's franchised new-car dealerships, which employ more than 5,000 people statewide. The 77 dealerships have a total annual payroll of $260 million, and total annual sales of $2.786 billion, which represents 14.2 percent of the non-visitor industry retail economy of the state, according to HADA.
HONOLULU TOPS REAL-ESTATE RANKING
Moody's Investors Service ranked Honolulu as the strongest metropolitan commercial real-estate market in the nation during the third quarter.
On a scale of 0 to 100, Honolulu scored 81, which was an improvement from 79 in the second quarter, during which Honolulu tied for first with New York City.
Oklahoma City and San Francisco tied for second with scores of 74. Albuquerque, N.M., Los Angeles and New York were tied at 72.
The five worst markets were Trenton, N.J. 27, Phoenix 30, Wilmington, Del. 35, Jacksonville, Fla. 37, and Detroit 40 .
Moody's gave the country a composite score of 63, down one point from the second quarter.
