Americas News
Bunker Price Drop Prompts Lower Surcharge
U.S. Shipping and logistics company Matson Navigation Company, Inc. (Matson) is decreasing its bunker fuel surcharge by 3.5 percentage points for its Hawaii, Guam/Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Micronesia services, it announced in an email to customers today.
The Oakland headquartered firm said the move, effective this June 17, was as a "result of recent declines in bunker fuel prices" and takes the surcharges down from 45.5% to 42% for its Hawaii service, and from 42% to 38.5% for its Guam/CNMI and Micronesia services.
"We are pleased to be able to make this downward adjustment to our fuel surcharge, which for most customers represents a reduction in shipping costs ranging from $80 to $140 per container," said Dave Hoppes, senior vice president, ocean services.
According to Matson data, this latest adjustment follows an increase of 5 percentage points for the Hawaii service on February 26, 2012, which was proceeded by three consecutive decreases in 2011.
For the Guam and Micronesia services, this is the fourth consecutive decrease as no change has so far been necessary in 2012 due to "significant increases in freight volume", following the departure of a competitor late last year.
Matson says it is continuing to monitor fuel costs and will adjust the surcharge accordingly.
