Oil price declines showing up at gasoline pumps are also filtering into other energy-related bills, providing some much-needed relief for Hawai'i residents.

Since late September, Matson Navigation Co. has lowered its fuel surcharges three times, while Hawaiian Electric Co. rolled back O'ahu resident rates in October and expects to do so again in November. Horizon Lines, the second-largest carrier of ocean cargo to Hawai'i, also has trimmed fuel surcharges.

"Everything helps," said Pearl Imada Iboshi, state economist. It's "definitely positive for people's pocketbooks."

Surcharges were slapped on many transportation services as oil prices spiked through late last year and into the first half of this year, raising the cost of everything from airline tickets to lettuce packed in refrigerated containers on cargo ships. But oil prices have been slipping as an economic slump suppresses fuel demand.

Crude oil prices have fallen by more than half since hitting a record of $147.27 a barrel on July 11.

On Friday, crude oil for December delivery dropped to $64.15, or the lowest in 16 months, according to Bloomberg News.

The decline has prompted transportation companies to retrace steps taken to raise fuel surcharges, which had become pervasive as oil prices marched upward. But the surcharges haven't fallen in lock-step with the oil-price declines for the most part.

EXPLAINING THE LAG

Companies said their own fuel prices don't move in the exact same fashion as crude prices and that other factors, such as how fast they use up existing fuel bought at higher prices, factor into the decisions.

For example, Hawaiian Airlines hasn't lowered its $130 one-way fuel surcharge between Hawai'i and the Mainland. While spot jet fuel prices on the West Coast are down by half from their peak in July, Hawaiian said it has just begun to see relief from prices in recent weeks. Jet fuel is still higher than what Hawaiian paid a year ago, the company said.

"At current prices Hawaiian will pay $130 million more for fuel this year than last year and fuel surcharges haven't come close to covering those costs," wrote Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner in an e-mail.

That's no comfort to travelers, who are questioning why the airline ticket surcharges haven't come down.

Rachel Shimamoto, manager of Honolulu-based Travel Ways, said Hawaiian charged only a $9.55 surcharge to the West Coast in February.

But she said people are wondering why the surcharge wasn't rolled back or if they should wait for airlines to drop prices before buying tickets.

"It's hard for us to explain to people that the fuel prices went down but the fare remained the same because the airline didn't take the surcharge back," Shimamoto said.

Similarly, customer service representatives at Hawaiian Electric have been getting calls from people inquiring when they'll see further cuts in their energy bills. Hawai'i residents pay the most for electricity compared to counterparts in other states, with the rate steadily creeping up during the first eight months of the year.

In January, Hawai'i residents were charged $23.4 cents per kilowatt hour; by August the rate was at 32.5 cents.

The first break came in September, when rates fell by 1.2 cents per kilowatt hour compared with the prior month.

"We saw a slight drop September to October and we expect it to continue to decrease over the next couple of months as well," said HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg.

The fuel adjustment reductions spool out slower than the drop in the price of crude, mostly because prices for the low-sulfur fuel oil used by HECO peaked later and because the utility must first use up a 30- to 60-day supply of fuel bought at higher prices before it can start figuring lower-cost fuel into the bills.

YOUNG BROTHERS DELAY

A similar type of delay is at work at Young Brothers Ltd., which has yet to lower a 7.01 percent surcharge on its Neighbor Island barge service. The company is allowed by the state Public Utilities Commission to modify the fee every three months and will do so for the period starting in December.

Roy Catalani, Young Brothers vice president, declined to say whether the surcharge will be clipped.

"In this market I haven't been able to predict anything so I'd rather not go there," Catalani said.

Yet others such as Matson have seen their bunker fuel costs fall and have started cutting. Matson's surcharge hit a high of 42.75 percent at the end of August. It's now at 27 percent after chopping the surcharge three times in six weeks.

"Hopefully the downward trends continue and we can continue to lower our fuel surcharge," said spokesman Jeff Hull.

Iboshi said the lowering of surcharges should factor into lower inflation for local consumers. She is projecting Honolulu's inflation rate will fall to 4.5 percent this year from the 4.9 percent rate in 2007.

Next year inflation should dip to 3.5 percent, she said.

"It's definitely positive in terms of improving people's disposable income," Iboshi said.

"Part of the reason why our inflation goes down is energy and reduction in the housing component. Over the next couple of years we expect inflation rates to be lower."