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Matson increasing fuel surcharge
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Posted on Oct 08 2004
Matson Navigation Co. is raising its fuel surcharge to 9.2 percent on Oct. 18 for shipments to the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, and Guam.
The company says it is raising its price because of sustained high fuel costs, currently at record levels.
Matson already raised its fuel charge in March from 7.5 percent to 8 percent and again in June to 8.8 percent.
Matson burns about 1.9 million barrels of fuel annually and for every dollar increase per barrel of bunker fuel, the company experiences an approximate $1.9 million increase in annual operating costs, the company said in a letter Wednesday to customers.
In addition, the company has been hit by the ongoing labor shortages in Southern California.
“In order to minimize the impact of the situation on our service, Matson has deployed two reserve vessels at no additional expense to our customers,” the company said.
Matson is accelerating the transit time for Southern California-bound vessels to have a better position for labor allocation upon arrival. Initiatives result in higher than normal fuel consumption.
The company will continue to adjust its surcharge up or down according to trends in oil prices. (PR)
