TSA carriers to introduce record fuel surcharge

TSA carriers to introduce record fuel surcharge    Transpacific Stabilization Agreement carriers said their bunker fuel surcharge will increase 30 percent to help recoup losses in the last few months.
   Effective Jan. 1 the TSA’s quarterly fuel surcharge will increase to $590 per 40-foot container from $455. Fuel prices reached a record level in the last quarter but have been dropping in the last month.
   “Customers understandably ask why surcharges are rising while fuel prices are going down,” said Albert A. Pierce, TSA executive director. “The simplest answer is the calculation delay prevented carriers from recovering true fuel costs as they were going up, and if the current downward trend continues, we should all see relief from higher fuel costs in coming months.”
   TSA members are: American President Lines, CMA CGM, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, COSCO Container Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Evergreen Marine, Orient Overseas Container Line, Hanjin Shipping Co., Hapag-Lloyd, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Yang Ming Marine and Hyundai Merchant Marine.