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Hauliers to impose fuel surcharge

PETALING JAYA Sept 12 - Malaysia 's containers hauliers will impose a fuel adjustment factor (FAF) surcharge on their customers because of the continued high fuel prices.

For the period commencing from October 15 till December 31, the applicable FAF is 10.15 percent of the 40-foot container rate published in the Container Hauliers Association of Malaysia (CHAM) tariff.

The FAF is applied to both the 20-footer and 40-footer containers, said CHAM and Association of Malaysian Hauliers (AMH) in a joint statement Saturday.

They said the fourth quarter FAF was based on the average weekly spot price for diesel in June, July and August this year, compared against the cost of diesel factored in the 1974 CHAM tariff.

Similar to reimbursement of toll charges incurred by haulage operators, the FAF is applied as a cost recovery measure to reimburse haulage operators from the increase in fuel costs compared with CHAM's 1974 tariff, they said.

As such, it is an additional surcharge applied over and above any pricing arrangements currently in place between customers and their respective haulage operator.

CHAM and AMH said the surcharge will be reviewed and announced on a quarterly interval based on a formula, taking into account the average cost of fuel for each quarter compared against the cost of fuel factored when formulating the CHAM tariff back in 1974.

CHAM president, Mirzan Mahathir, said the customers and the Government would be informed soon about the FAF.

"The hauliers are hoping for understanding from everybody as fuel prices have gone up drastically to an unprecedented level in the last few years," he said at a joint press conference by CHAM and AMH here Saturday.

All this while, the hauliers have been absorbing the cost but this time, it is no longer possible, he said, adding that hauliers needed funds for reinvestment to keep their equipment up-to-date and offer quality services to customers.

The FAF is just to cover the fuel cost and the hauliers are among the last to impose the surcharge among members in the transportation industry, said AMH president, Shalimin Shafiee.

Others involved in the transportation business such as airlines and shipping companies have already imposed surcharge, while bus operators have been asking for a 40 percent hike in fare in order to stay afloat.

CHAM vice president Azmin Che Yusoff said diesel price had increased from about 40 sen per litre two years ago to about 96 sen per litre after subsidy. Excluding subsidy the price is about RM1.20.

He said for Kontena Nasional Bhd, every sen of increase in diesel price meant a rise in cost by RM200,000 per year for the company.

CHAM and AMH estimated that the combined loss of the industry players in 2003 was in excess of RM50 million and one of the many factors cited as the reason for the poor financial performance was escalating fuel cost.

Other reasons included intense competition as a result of the emergence of many new players in the last three years and also the fact that the tariff structure has not changed for about 30 years.

Shipping agents decline to key in export booking details

By T. SELVA

The issue of who will have to key in export booking and container number details into Northport's data system took a twist last week when shipping agents declined to undertake the task, saying that they never agreed to it. 

The Port Klang Shipping Agencies Association (PKSSA) is now seeking an urgent meeting with Port Klang Authority (PKA) chairman Datuk Yap Pian Hon to sort out the matter. 

PKSSA president M. Gopal Krishnan said shipping lines did not agree at all to key in the container numbers at the Aug 8 meeting with PKA and others. 

“We only accepted responsibility to provide the accurate data required by the terminal operators and said we will discuss the matter with Northport and depot operators. 

“We are seeking an amendment to the minutes of the meeting that says we have agreed to do the task,” he said. 

On Aug 8, Yap announced that shipping agents would have to key in export booking and container number details beginning Oct 1, ending the issue of hauliers having to carry out the chore since 1998. 

Yap said this following a meeting with the Container Hauliers Association of Malaysia (Cham), Association of Malaysian Hauliers (AMH), Port Klang Shipping Agencies Association (PKSSA), Northport, International Shipowners Association, Malaysian Shipowners Association, Federation of Malaysian Freight Forwarders and other related agencies. 

Hauliers had threatened to stop keying in the export booking on July 1, saying it was not their work. Yap intervened and personally undertook the task to resolve the issue. 

Gopal Krishnan said they had a meeting with Northport on Sept 8 and the latter had agreed in principal to undertake the keying in because terminals in major Asian ports were doing so. 

“We checked the practices in Hong Kong, Tokyo , Keelung , Kaohsiung and Manila and found the terminals updated container numbers for export bookings. 

“We propose a similar process to be implemented by Northport. 

“But there are some constraints which may be an industry problem and we need the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, Cham and AMH and other related agencies to give us their endorsement on several matters.” 

Gopal Krishnan said Northport had expressed willingness to accept the assignment if it was agreed by the industry players and PKA. 

Federation of Malaysian Freight Forwarders president Pauline Tee, expressed shock over the new development, saying that as far as they were concerned, the issue had been resolved. 

“We have no objections if Northport wants to undertake the keying in of the data. PKSSA and Northport should jointly do this instead of passing the job to other agencies,” she said. 

A Cham spokesman said PKSSA should have voiced their objections in the Aug 8 meeting when a decision was made by Yap . 

“We have informed our customers that we will cease keying in the data from Oct 1,” he said. 

Yap could not be reached for comments as he is away in China .