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Hawaii shipping For the third time this year, Hawaii's two major shipping carriers said they are boosting the fuel surcharges on Hawaii shipping routes.
rates to rise again
Fuel surcharges will rise to
4.25 percent, adding $8 to
the price of shipping a carBy Rob Perez
Star-BulletinThe move will add about $8 to the price of shipping a car between here and the West Coast.
The increases for Matson Navigation Co. and CSX Lines take effect Oct. 15 and raise the surcharge 1 percentage point to 4.25 percent, or an increase of more than 30 percent. The surcharge also was raised in February and April, with rising fuel costs again cited as the reason.
Oil prices have tripled in the past year-and-a-half, prompting gasoline suppliers, airlines, shippers and other transportation-related companies to raise prices to customers.
Matson is one of the two dominant shipping companies serving Hawaii.
CSX Lines said today that it had notified the federal Surface Transportation Board earlier this week of a plan to raise its surcharge to 4.75 percent. But because of Matson's move, CSX will pare that to 4.25 percent, also effective Oct. 15, said Brian Taylor, CSX vice president and general manager in Hawaii.
The two carriers typically match each other's price changes.
The Matson move, once it takes effect, will raise the total surcharge on the cost of shipping a car to Hawaii to $35, compared with $27 under the 3.25 percent surcharge, according to Jeff Hull, a Matson spokesman. The basic shipping charge remains at $830.
"We had hoped that another increase in the surcharge could be avoided," said Paul E. Stevens, senior vice president of marketing for Matson.
"However, this is unfortunately not the case. We continue to feel the impact of this unprecedented climb of fuel prices, which are approaching the peak levels that occurred during the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991."
The company said it would continue to monitor fuel costs and adjust the surcharge accordingly.
The surcharge is separate from both carriers' basic shipping rates. The two companies in February raised their rates 3.9 percent, citing higher operating costs.
Matson today notified the federal Surface Transportation Board of the surcharge increase.
The surcharge, added to the bottom line on shipping bills, has more than doubled since Matson instituted it in October 1999. The surcharge then was 1.75 percent.
Matson is a wholly owned subsidiary of Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc.
Matson fuel surcharges
October 15, 2000 4.25% April 2, 2000 3.25% February 20, 2000 2.25% October 11, 1999 1.75%