A GROUP of shipping lines has not formally discussed a rate increase at least until next month. An official of the Philippine Liner Shipping Association (PLSA) said Monday that the group has yet to bring the matter up in a meeting since the group is currently preoccupied with a fee hike proposed by truckers.

The official admitted that while “fuel cost has been one of the significant charges in our operational cost,” the group “cannot just increase rates because of its social impact.”

He explained that fuel costs eats up about 30 to 35 percent of its operational cost to date, from about 25 percent some two years ago.

PLSA already increased its bunker surcharge twice last year, by 12.62 percent in September and then by 14.29 percent in December.

The official said that the group may review rates after truckers collect increased fees, possibly by February 14.

PLSA also said it will only follow the decision of Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines (SCMAP) regarding the proposal of its truckers to hike transport fees. SCMAP is set to release a decision this month.

“We had already agreed that there is a need to adjust the rates, but we will just talk about on how much the increase should be,” SCMAP president Johnny T. Guillermo earlier said.

Truckers are proposing a 16 percent increase, citing the hike in pump prices and spare parts. If approved, fees to transport a single twenty-foot metal container will go up to P5,917.77 from P5,100.00 previously.

The last time that the truckers asked for a rate hike was in May 2006, but SCMAP, then called as Distribution Management Association of the Philippines, only allowed them to charge P5,100 per twenty-foot box rather than the proposed P5,600.

Among the trucking groups that are lobbying for the increase include Integrated North Harbor Truckers Association, WGA Truckers Association, and Allied Trucking Group Philippines.

PLSA, formerly known as Domestic Shipping Association, is a venue for all the member shipping lines to discuss issues and solutions which affect the domestic shipping industry. Its members include the country’s largest shipping lines, including the Magsaysay group, Negros Navigation, and the Aboitiz Group’s vessels.

Agency brings back rates to old levels, ending exporters’ discounts

THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) announced that fees collected from the use of ports have been brought back to their previous levels, ending substantial discounts previously enjoyed by exporters, shippers and port users.

A GROUP of shipping lines has not formally discussed a rate increase at least until next month. An official of the Philippine Liner Shipping Association (PLSA) said Monday that the group has yet to bring the matter up in a meeting since the group is currently preoccupied with a fee hike proposed by truckers.

PARIS—Total SA, Europe’s third-largest oil company, must pay a share of more than €190 million ($281 million) in civil fines and a separate criminal fine in a case over the 1999 sinking of the oil tanker Erika.

SEOUL—Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Kumho-Asiana Group, Hanjin Group and STX Group submitted separate bids for a controlling stake valued at about $2.7 billion in Korea Express Co., South Korea’s biggest logistics company.