TRANSPORTATION : Eden Air Freight to Be U.S. Partner of Japanese Company

Eden Air Freight of Irvine, the freight forwarder started two years ago by Burlington Air Express founder Larry L. Rodberg, has signed a joint operating agreement with Sankyu Inc. of Japan.

Sankyu is a Japanese conglomerate that plays a big role in that country’s air freight industry. Sankyu lost its previous U.S. partner to a merger.

Enter Eden, which will handle the U.S. end of all Sankyu air freight shipments from Japan, and Sankyu will handle the Japan end of pickup and delivery of freight forwarded there by Eden.

The contract is another boost for Eden, which opened its doors on Black Monday--Oct. 19, 1987--but does not seem to have been harmed by that coincidence.

So far, Rodberg said, Eden has established 21 offices in this country and 37 in foreign countries, with most of those in Europe and Asia. Eden’s annual gross revenue is about $35 million.

1 Some Up, Some Down: The October sales reports for Orange County auto importers are a mixed bag.

Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America in Cypress reported that sales for the month--usually one characterized by lower activity--hit a record 11,414 passenger cars, up 136% from October, 1988.

American Suzuki Motor Corp. in Brea, hit hard last year by a negative Consumer Reports review of its Samurai sports vehicle (a review later repudiated by a government study), said October sales showed the beginning of a recovery from last year’s moribund pace, with 2,899 cars and sports trucks sold, up 92% from 1,509 units a year earlier.

In Garden Grove, Hyundai Motor America said it sold 14,663 autos in October, down 9.7% from 16,232 units in October 1988.

Finally, Mazda Motors of America in Irvine said it sold 24,820 vehicles last month, down 3.3% from the 25,680 sold in October 1988.