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Horizon Lines has announced it has decided to keep its fuel surcharge at the current rate of 33.75 percent for trades between the continental U.S and Hawaii and Guam after previously announcing that it would raise the surcharge on June 8th.

The announcement comes just days after its main competitor in Hawaii, Matson Navigation Co. revealed its plans to maintain its fuel surcharge at current levels, rather than follow the lead of Horizon Lines. Matson decided to keep its fuel surcharge at its current rate of 33.75 percent, despite the fact that rival Horizon Lines Inc. had said it planned to raise its fuel surcharge by 1.5 percentage points to 35.35 percent on ocean shipments between the continental U.S and Hawaii and Guam.

In an effort to reduce costs, Matson has implemented an initiative to reduce the fuel consumption of its fleet of vessels. The company has reduced the speed of its container ships and removed one vessel from its Hawaii service in order to meet current market conditions.

In a statement earlier this month after announcing the surcharge hike, Horizon Lines had said "At this time, Horizon Lines sees no immediate relief in sight, as fuel costs are forecasted to remain either at this level or continue to escalate through midyear."

The decision by both shipping firms to maintain their fuel surcharge rates is the first time that neither company has raised its surcharge since January 2007.