About 80 percent of all goods sold in Hawai'i come via ship, and consumers are likely to pick up most of the added cost.

"We can't afford to absorb those types of increases without passing them on," said Chris Nied, president of Pacific American Lumber Inc., which sells flooring and interior finished products. "So it does affect us and it does affect the end user."

The price for shipping a 20-pound bag of rice, for example, will increase by nearly a penny.

Matson will raise its fuel surcharge from 10.5 percent to 11.5 percent beginning July 3 for its Hawai'i and Guam/Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands services. Officials said it's part of the company's new quarterly fuel cost evaluations.

"Record high fuel prices continue to be an area of concern for many businesses, as well as the average consumer," said Dave Hoppes, Matson's vice president for ocean services. "For transportation companies, fuel consumption is an unavoidable and significant component of operating costs. Many of the major railroads, trucking companies and international ocean carriers currently have fuel surcharges exceeding 14 percent.

"While we continue to invest in modern, fuel-efficient vessels that help reduce our overall fuel consumption, the impact of fuel prices on Matson's business remains a cost factor we cannot simply absorb. In the past three months, bunker fuel prices have risen 30 percent, necessitating this new adjustment."

Crude oil prices are up 39 percent from a year ago. Yesterday, crude oil for July delivery fell 74 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $53.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Matson's fuel surcharge increases are usually matched by Horizon Lines, Hawai'i's other major ocean cargo carrier. Horizon officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.