rates spiral

Dismal tale of transport's rates spiral

Air fares and freight rates con tinue to spiral all round the Pacific.

Papua New Guinea, the BSIP, the Trust Territory and Fiji are all in volved in the latest round of in creases, and more are on the way.

The Australian Shippers’ Council, made up mainly of exporters, and the four major shipping lines servic ing PNG and the BSIP from Aust ralia, have agreed to an interim in crease of Si per cent in freight rates.

This increase was scheduled to come into operation on April 15.

The next hike will depend on the outcome of negotiations between shipping companies and the Aust ralian Waterside Workers’ Federation over new wage rates for the water siders. These rates are expected to come into operation some time in May.

The shipping companies con cerned, New Guinea Australia Line, Karlander, New Guinea Express Line and Conpac, will then present a more detailed case to the Aust ralian Shippers’ Council, and one shipping company official said he was confident a case could easily be made out. The last increase in freight rates, apart from two sur charges imposed through the oil price increases, was on April 1, 1973.

The basis for the interim increase was Si per cent of the Sydney- Brisbane to Lae general cargo rate —53.05 a tonne (1,000 kilos) and $2.75 a cubic metre (M 3 ).

The new rates, from Sydney and Brisbane, are: To Lae-Rabaul-Madang —s39.ls a tonne; $35.15 a cubic metre.

To Port Moresby -Samarai— s37,9s a tonne; $34.05 a cubic metre.

To Kavieng-Kieta —s44.os a tonne; $39.55 a cubic metre.

To Honiara-Giz0—% 46.55 a tonne; $41.75 a cubic metre.

In the Trust Territory, freight rates went up in March by an aver age of 22 per cent for everything except “specific rates commodities”.

The latter category applies to com modities produced in the Trust Territory, and includes vegetables

and meat. The rates for those com modities are unchanged.

In Fiji, cargo barge companies raised freight rates by about 12 per cent. Rates before the rise were: Narain Shipping C 0—510.25 a ton, Suva-Labasa; $9.25 a ton, Suva- Savusavu, Suva-Taveuni; $8.25 a ton, Suva-Levuka. Marine Pacific Ltd—sll a ton, Suva-Taveuni, Suva- Labasa; $10.50 a ton, Suva-Savu savu; $9 a ton, Suva-Lautoka, Suva- Levuka, Air fares and freight rates rose in Papua New Guinea on April 1.

Third level operators lifted their rates by an average of 12 per cent and Air Niugini by 7 per cent. Ris ing fuel costs, and other higher costs were responsible for the new rates.

Continental/Air Micronesia in creased air fares by an average of 22 per cent on March 22, regardless of whether tickets were bought earlier or whether reservations had been made. The airline asked the US Civil Aeronautics Board for the in creased fares, citing steeply rising fuel costs and continual opera tional losses on the TT services.

Continental/Air Micronesia, in its request for the new fares, said that even with them, it would lose about $750,000 on the Trust Territory ser vice this year. .

The steepest increase from March 22 was on the one-way ticket be tween Guam and Honolulu. The new fare is $303.30, much more than a 22 per cent increase over the old fare of $217. New charges for one way tickets on some regular routes are: Guam-Koror, $107.40; Saipan- Majuro, $229.40; Saipan-Truk,

$101.30; Majuro-Ponape, $120.80;

Majuro-Kwajalein, $40.30; Honolulu- Majuro, $236.70; Ponape-Guam, $133; Saipan-Honolulu, $310.10.

The Fiji Government has agreed to higher fares from Fiji to destina tions other than Australia, but has rejected a request by international airlines to increase fares from Fiji to Australia by 7 per cent, with a 3 per cent increase in the other direction. The government said Fiji- Australia fares should rise by not more than 3 per cent in either direction.

The increases on fares out of Fiji took effect March 15, and followed a meeting of the International Air Transport Association (lATA) in Singapore in January. A Fiji Govern ment spokesman said that lATA had agreed, subject to the approval of national governments, to raise fares world-wide by 7 per cent to cover increases in fuel costs.