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THE Container Hauliers Association of Malaysia (Cham) is sticking to its guns in imposing a controversial flat-rate haulage tariff for all containers regardless of whether they measure 20, 40 or 45-feet from the first of the year.
Freight forwarders and shippers oppose the move as they claim it will lead to a doubling of existing haulage rates, reported Kuala Lumpur's Business Times.
It said that from January 1, the haulage fee for all container sizes will be based on the 40-foot rate, which varies dramatically from locality to locality. Yet tariffs are mostly in the range of MYR700 (US$198.17) to MYR1,000 per TEU with a doubling of rates for 40-foot boxes.
A Cham spokesman was cited saying local shippers are given rebates of between 10-40 per cent per 40-foot unit, depending on the individual hauliers.
"Thus, the fear that the single box-rate tariff would effectively see a rate hike in 20-foot container deliveries by 100 per cent is unfounded. I don't think hauliers will ask for full 40-footer rates," he said.
"Besides, majority of hauliers deal with forwarding agents who get a certain margin and they have their own choice of hauliers. Cham and the Association of Malaysian Hauliers (AMH) represent 45 out of the more than 100 hauliers licensed to operate in the country."
The report said that both Cham and AMH intend to introduce the new tariffs unilaterally without prior consultation with those footing the bill.
Opponents say the "unjust" move will effectively be a form of price-fixing, and weaken their international competitiveness. They include the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, the Malaysian National Shippers' Council, the SMI Association Malaysia and the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association, the Malaysian SMR Rubber Processors Association, the Federation of Rubber Trade Associations of Malaysia and the Malaysian Concentrate Latex Processors Association.
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