WTSA LINES PLAN TO PASS THROUGH RAIL SECURITY COSTS

WTSA LINES PLAN TO PASS THROUGH RAIL SECURITY COSTS    Member lines of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement said they pass on to their customers rail security surcharges being assessed by U.S. railroads on containerized hazardous goods.
   The WTSA said three of the largest U.S. railroads — CSX, Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific — recently announced rail security surcharges of up to $80 per container for hazardous cargoes.
   The carriers acknowledged that added security requirements in monitoring and handling hazardous cargoes are driving up inland transport costs. However,    'to the extent that they are assessed security charges by various railroads, WTSA lines say they have no choice but to pass those charges on to customers in their individual tariffs and service contracts as applicable,' the WTSA said in a statement. 'Carriers emphasized that any pass-throughs will be revenue-neutral, reflecting only the additional charges assessed by rail operations.
   WTSA member lines are APL, COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen Marine, Hanjin Shipping, Hapag Lloyd Container Linie, Hyundai Merchant Marine, 'K' Line, Maersk Sealand, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, NYK, OOCL, P&O Nedlloyd and Yangming Marine.