Hawaii-based ocean cargo delivery firm Matson Inc. has begun serving Okinawa following a seven-month delay.
The company made its first stop at the Port of Naha on Saturday as part of an adjusted route focused on China. Matson had expected the Okinawa service to begin in February, but obtaining regulatory permits and other approvals took longer than anticipated.
To add the Naha port call, Matson eliminated a stop in Xiamen, China. The revised route for Matson’s weekly service to Asia consists of a loop with port calls in Long Beach, Calif., Honolulu, Guam, Naha and then two stops in China, Ningbo and Shanghai, before returning to Long Beach.
Matson expects to mainly carry cargo supporting the U.S. military and commercial customers in Okinawa. The company said in December that eliminating the Xiamen stop doesn’t diminish its eastbound capacity out of China where cargo is mainly garments, footwear and other retail merchandise.
Matson, which appointed Ekistics EpiCenter Inc. as its exclusive agent in Okinawa, will compete with APL serving Okinawa from Long Beach but said its service is four days quicker.
Boeing, Airbus fret over suppliers merging
NEW YORK >> Airplane makers Boeing and Airbus raised concerns Tuesday about the proposed tie-up of industrial company United Technologies and aerospace parts maker Rockwell Collins, saying that the deal could raise costs or slow the production of planes. Boeing and Airbus both buy equipment from United Tech and Rockwell Collins. The comments from the two companies came a day after United Tech announced plans to buy Rockwell Collins for about $22.75 billion. The deal would create an aerospace giant that makes plane seats, landing systems and flight control decks for commercial and military planes.
U.S. factory orders fall 3.3% in July
WASHINGTON >> Orders at U.S. factories tumbled in July, dragged down by a sharp fall in orders for civilian aircraft. The Commerce Departments reports that factory orders declined 3.3 percent in July, mostly because of a 19.2 percent drop in orders in transportation equipment.
ON THE MOVE
Anthology Marketing Group has announced the following new members of its digital and public relations teams:
>> Pranam Manandhar is the new software engineer for the firm’s digital group. Manandhar previously was a software developer for Randstad Technologies.
>> Nick Gambino is the new assistant account executive for the firm’s digital group. Gambino previously was a sales agent at Europcar/AutoEurope.
>> Alyssa Amasol is an assistant account executive for the firm’s public relations group. Amasol previously was a digital content assistant at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
>> Micah Akau is an assistant account executive for the firm’s public relations group. Akau previously was a sales and special-events coordinator at Mauna Kea Resort.
