TSA, WTSA set fuel surcharges rates for May
Container shipping lines in the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement and the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement said Friday they have made the first monthly adjustments to bunker and inland fuel surcharges, effective May 1, based on average prices over a four-week period during March.
Earlier this year TSA and WTSA said that they would shift from quarterly to monthly adjustments beginning May 1, in order to more closely reflect current fuel price trends in the surcharge.
Member lines report that an overall increase in both marine and highway fuel prices during March will result in higher surcharges for the month of May. The bunker fuel charge will be set at $590 per 40-foot container, with proportionate increases for other equipment sizes and cargo otherwise rated. The inland fuel surcharge will be set at $179 per container for rail and combination rail/truck intermodal shipments, and $52 per container for local and short-haul regional trucking throughout West Coast states and the Eastern Seaboard.
TSA and WTSA continue to use the same formulas to convert average world bunker fuel prices and U.S. Department of Energy highway diesel fuel prices to per container surcharges based on container line purchasing and consumption patterns.
As part of the transition to monthly calculation, TSA lines will make a final quarterly adjustment of fuel charges effective April 1, based on the 13-week calculation period ending in the last week of February. That adjustment, in effect for the month of April, lowers the bunker charge to $545 per FEU, and the inland fuel surcharge to $169 per container for long-haul rail and rail-truck intermodal and $49 per container for regional and local short-haul trucking.
WTSA and TSA each have 11 member lines, though China Shipping is a member of the WTSA but not the TSA, and MOL is a member of the TSA, but not the WTSA.
