Young Brothers ups fuel surcharge
Young Brothers Ltd. said yesterday it will increase its fuel surcharge to 7.01 percent starting today. It is the interisland shipper's fourth fuel surcharge hike since it started adding the fee to customer rates last December.
YOUNG BROTHERS FUEL SURCHARGES
» September 2008: |
7.01%
|
» June 2008: |
4.22%
|
» March 2008: |
2.78%
|
» December 2007: |
1.29% |
Source: Young Brothers Ltd.
|
The company last increased the fee in June to 4.22 percent from a 2.78 percent fee implemented in March. Young Brothers started the fuel surcharge in December at 1.29 percent.
"Young Brothers' fuel price adjustment is based upon the average cost of fuel over the preceding three-month period," Roy Catalani, Young Brothers' vice president of strategic planning and government affairs, said in a statement.
The June through August average price was much higher than those in prior three-month periods, Catalani said. Because the fuel price adjustment reflects the average fuel costs for the previous three-month period, Young Brothers' recovery of increased fuel costs lags behind day-to-day fuel prices, the company said.
The rapid nature of this year's increases meant Young Brothers recovered only a little more than half of its increased fuel costs in the first seven months of this year.
When added to the base price for shipping with the current fuel surcharge, the 7.01 percent adjustment will add about 1 cent to the cost of shipping a 24-package case of saimin and about 1 cent to the cost of shipping a case of 24 cans of juice.
Young Brothers is replacing its existing barges with a new generation of larger, state-of-the art vessels.
Young Brothers estimates that between 2003 and 2007, the combined impact of fuel-efficiency efforts has resulted in a more than 30 percent increase in fuel efficiency.The company raised base rates for all shipments by 5.5 percent. It was the company's fourth rate increase in four years.
Young Brothers may request a rate increase every year and adjust for fuel prices each quarter.