Matson rates go up 3.9%
The shipper cites upgrades in service and equipment
Horizon Lines says it will not immediately change its pricing
MATSON NAVIGATION Co. Inc. will raise shipping rates to and from Hawaii an average of 3.9 percent effective Jan. 1.
Rates will go up by $125 per westbound container and $75 per eastbound container.
Its terminal handling charges will increase as well, by $60 per westbound container and $30 for each eastbound container, effective the same day. The current charges are $265 westbound and $135 eastbound.
"This rate increase will help offset rises in contractual operating costs and support a number of investments in our Hawaii service," said James Andrasick, Matson president and CEO.
Horizon Lines will wait, as with Matson increase announcements in the past, until Matson files the increase with the Surface Transportation Board.
"At that time we'll evaluate what the effect is on the market and decide our course of action from there," said Kuuhaku Park, Horizon's government and public affairs manager.
Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines is not in the container shipping business, said spokeswoman Gayle Burns from its San Francisco offices. The company's motor vessels carry vehicles and over-high and over-wide cargo to and between the islands.
Matson has made its fleet replacement program "a top priority in recent years," Andrasick said.
It has spent more than $500 million on new container ships serving Hawaii, Guam and China. It is also investing in new container equipment, terminal upgrades, information technology and enhancements in neighbor island service, according to a statement.
Matson initiated its rate increase on a per-container, flat-fee basis rather than an across-the-board basis because it was more equitable, said Jeff Hull, director of public relations.
No matter what is in the container, it costs the same amount to ship it, he said.
The company has either not taken or deferred increases during the past several years. No increase was sought in 2003. In 1998 the company also took no rate increase, "in recognition of the state's effort to revitalize the state's economy," Hull said. After the terrorist attacks of 2001, the rate increase was deferred until April 2002.
Fuel surcharges, tied solely to fuel costs, "are a separate line item and appears on the bottom of the bill," said Hull. The fuel surcharge is now about 13 percent of overall shipping cost.
SHIPPING FACTS
A 40-foot high-cube container can hold:
» 51,744 12-ounce cans. At $125 per "box," the cans cost two-tenths of a cent to ship.
» 24,000 heads of lettuce. At $125 per container, the shipping cost of the lettuce is five-tenths of a cent per head.
» A 40-foot flat-rack can carry 3,550 8-foot-long two-by-fours of lumber, for a 3-cent shipping cost per board. A flat rack is not as tall as a high-cube and is designed to fit inside a container hold.
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