Maersk Line announced it will simplify its surcharge system starting 2013 under a two-phase program that combines various freight surcharges into a basic ocean freight rate and streamlines the local origin and destination service charges.
The container shipping arm of Danish oil and shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk said it will implement a phased approach to simplifying its surcharge structure to make it easier for everyone to deal with quotes, contracts, and invoices.
“The final surcharge structure, which we expect to achieve by mid-2013, will have fewer and more transparent charges and help us better define the agreed service level,” the company said in a statement.
This initiative is not about adding cost, it added, but about making the cost of a container shipment easier to understand and evaluate.
“We believe that our customers are weighing all factors when choosing a carrier and that a simpler surcharge structure will help you do so also in future,” the company said.
Phase one will start on January 1, 2013, and will combine nonvolatile surcharges into a basic freight rate after dialogues with customers who are entering new contracts or renewing existing ones effective January 1, 2013.
To be combined into the basic freight are the basic ocean freight, cargo declaration data fee, cargo declaration data fee export, Panama transit fee, river toll charge, carrier security charge, Suez transit fee, and currency adjustment factor.
Phase two is about “cleaning up the complex landscape of local surcharges,” The liner will maintain a broad catalog of optional, value-adding services, while other charges will be combined into a single service charge for origin and destination respectively, local regulations permitting.
The charge for local origin will cover an origin handling charge and an export service fee. The ocean freight surcharge will include the basic ocean freight, bunker surcharges, and seasonal emergency charges. The local destination surcharge will be comprised of a destination handling charge and an import service fee.
“Our customers have requested fewer and more transparent surcharges and we are taking these actions in response,” Maersk Line said.
Photo courtesy of Maersk Line
