Matson raising rates 4.4 percent in January

By Sean Hao and Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writers

Hawai'i consumers can expect to pay anywhere from a few cents to significantly more for anything shipped into the state next year after the Island's dominant ocean transportation firm said yesterday it will raise rates an average of 4.4 percent effective Jan. 11.

ANDRASICK

In addition, rates for moving vehicles will increase by $25 for travel either way, while the terminal handling charge will rise from $30 to $35 per vehicle.

The company said the increases are necessary to help offset higher expenses including labor, security, $220 million for two new container ships, $90 million for roll-on, roll-off vehicle moving service upgrades and other improvements.

"This rate increase will help offset rises in contractual operating costs and support a number of investments in our Hawai'i service that will deliver value and provide the state with modern, reliable ocean transportation services in the future," said James Andrasick, Matson president and chief executive.

"This rate increase is consistent with our long-standing philosophy of implementing modest, incremental increases as necessary."

Matson's last across-the-board rate increase was 2.9 percent in April 2002. In January, the company also imposed terminal handling fees of $200 to bring each container of goods into the Islands and another $100 to ship a container out. The fee represented a 2.5 percent to 13 percent rate increase depending on container contents and destination.

In September, Matson also raised its fuel surcharge from 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent to offset rising fuel costs. The change increased the surcharge on the $908 cost to ship a car between the West Coast and Honolulu by about $9.

The new package of rate increases will add as little as 3 percent to ship a $4,000 container at the high end or an extra 7 percent to ship an $1,800 container at the low end.

A six-pack of 12-ounce cans will cost 1.7 cents more for shipping. A 20-pound bag of rice will see a 6.5 cent increase, and it will cost 4 cents more to ship a 2-by-4 piece of lumber. The cost to ship an automobile will go from $916 to $946.

Generally, wholesalers, distributors and retailers pass on added shipping costs to consumers.

"There's nothing you can do about it," said Neal Otani, president of produce wholesaler Y. Fukunaga Products Ltd. "If we absorbed all these increases we wouldn't be in business."

A representative of Matson competitor Horizon Lines, formerly known as CSX Lines, could not be reached yesterday, but the company typically follows Matson rate increases with similar increases of its own.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093 and Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.