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Click here for Fuel Surcharge information
07/07/08 - ILWU labor update
Talks will resume today between the ILWU and the PMA on the contract that
expired 7/1. Work is expected to continue uninterrupted for a while at the
west coast ports while negotiations continue. Agreement on health benefits
has already been reached, which is often a contentious issue. Items
regarding safety and productivity remain to be decided. We will keep you
posted as things develop.
07/01/08 - ILWU labor negotiations update
The current labor negotiations between the steamship lines and the Longshore
union have not resulted in an agreement at this time. However, the
negotiations have been progressing and the current contract is being extended to
keep operations unaffected. Nothing is expected over the next week due to
the July 4 and ILWU Bloody Thursday July 5th holidays. The next general
ILWU meeting to vote on a tentative contract is scheduled for July 14th.
The current contract was due to expire today.
06/18/08 - Fuel Surcharge adjustment and labor update
Matson Navigation announced an adjustment to their ocean fuel surcharge.
Effective 7/13, the surcharge will increase to 38.25 percent. Please check
the link above periodically for updates to the fuel surcharge.
We have been watching the labor negotiations between the steamship lines and the
Longshoremen's union. The current contract expires July 1.
There has been little to note here since the negotiations are progressing and
appear that an agreement will be reached without a labor stoppage. We will
update with any important information as we get it.
The July 4th holiday will have little impact on the sailing schedule. As
with most companies, we will be closed on Friday July 4th. Our freight
cutoff will be Thursday and all containers will be in the harbor Thursday night.
Matson will be working on the 4th and expect to have the Saturday vessel depart
on time early Saturday morning. The west coast port Longshoremen will
honor their Bloody Thursday holiday on Saturday July 5 and the ports will be
closed. No delays due to the holidays are expected.
05/29/08 - Additions to the Aloha Freight team
Aloha has made several additions to our team in Hawaii. We welcome two
new account managers, Shari Robinson and Melissa Lukacs. They both have
extensive experience and will add to the top-notch service that Aloha is able to
provide for our customers. We also formally announce the addition of Bob
Thomas to our Hawaii team. Bob started with Aloha in January and is our
new General Manager. We are thrilled to have them in the Aloha Freight
o'hana.
05/01/08 - West Coast Longshoremen take one day strike
The Longshoreman on the west coast have gone on strike today. The
strike action is intended to show the union's displeasure with the war in Iraq.
The union claims this action is not an organized strike but an individual
worker's choice to skip work. However, the entire workforce on the west
coast failed to show for work except for a few people to work a cruise
ship.
Matson expects all workers to be on the job tomorrow. Although they
don't expect delays in the Long Beach departure on Saturday, we feel the Long
Beach ship will depart at least several hours later than usual. The
Oakland vessel will depart late and will arrive late next week in Honolulu.
This will impact unloading of the Long Beach ship when it arrives. The
deliveries that would normally be accomplished next Thursday may be delayed one
day.
02/14/2008 - Update on Mahimahi scheduled due 2/13
The vessel will arrive Thursday night, more than 24 hours behind schedule
due to the previously mentioned mechanical delays. We will unload as many
available containers we can on Friday and make deliveries. We will
continue to pull
containers and unload over the weekend. With Monday being a holiday for
many companies, they will be unable to receive deliveries. This will
impact deliveries for the subsequent Sunday evening arrival of the Maunawili
which will begin discharging on Monday.
02/09/2008 - Vessel delay
The vessel that was scheduled to depart early this morning has been delayed.
Matson had a mechanical problem with another vessel and it has affected their
entire schedule. The ship will not sail until Sunday afternoon at the
earliest. As of 0800 today, they had not been able to even start loading
the ship. The soonest any deliveries can be made for shipments on this
ship will be Friday.
01/22/08 - Vessel departure delay
The RJ Pfeiffer 329 is the next scheduled departure from Long Beach and
would normally leave on
Wednesday. It is behind schedule and will not depart Long Beach until
Thursday night. This will move the arrival in Honolulu back to Tuesday,
around midnight, putting all deliveries behind 2 days.
We will do everything we can to expedite all shipments. One slight benefit
from this is that we can load non-hazardous freight that is received Wednesday
morning on the sailing. Wednesday freight would normally sail out on
Saturday.
12/06/07 - Severe weather over the Pacific
The severe weather that we previously discussed is affecting the transit of
the ships. The scheduled vessel arrival this morning in Honolulu was
delayed until this evening. Containers that would normally be available to
us for delivery this morning will not be available until Friday morning.
We sure wish we had some control over the weather and appreciate your patience.
The weather will undoubtedly affect the Wednesday departure from Long Beach
that would normally arrive Sunday night.
It is also having some affect on inter-island barge and vessel
connections.
A Matson vessel that was departing Seattle encountered serious weather.
Before it was even out into the open Pacific, the windows of the pilothouse were
smashed from the heavy seas. The ship had to return to port. This is
the same weather that has hit the Northwest with flooding and closing of the I-5
in Washington.
Aloha had a container on that vessel. It will be delayed a week until
another vessel calls on the port.
12/05/07 - Severe weather in Hawaii
Hawaii is being pummeled by a strong storm system today and it is expected
to continue through tomorrow.
A high wind warning has been issued for 25-40 mph winds. Some
deliveries on Oahu are being affected. Maui shipments are delayed at least
one day. The Maui office closed mid day due to the severe weather. A
flash flood watch is in effect for the entire state through Thursday.
12/04/07 - General rate increase for 2008
Matson Navigation has announced their annual General Rate Increase.
They have increased several components of their rates, primarily the Terminal
Handling Charge and the base container rates. Together, the increase
equates to approximately a 6.5% increase. The effective date is January 6.
At that time, Aloha will also adjust our local pickup and delivery rates.
We don't carry a fuel surcharge on the Hawaii charges, so those rates are
increasing 8% or more primarily due to increased fuel costs. Your account
manager should be contacting you with specific rate information.
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Please utilize our on-line customer service feedback
form. This form will direct us to areas that need improvement and let
us know areas that are working for you. Listening to you has resulted in a
number of product enhancements which have helped us to improve our services.
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FREIGHT
FORWARDERS, INC.