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Horizon Lines has announced that it will again increase its fuel surcharge, just one month after its last price rise.

The second-largest shipper serving Hawaii from the U.S. mainland has said that from August 27th it will raise its surcharge by 4.5 percentage points from 38.25 percent to 42.75 percent.

This is the ninth consecutive surcharge rise by Horizon Lines since January 2007 when the surcharge was 17.5 percent. It matches the rate of the last hike, which went into effect on July 14th.

Below is a summary of the previous fuel surcharges announced since January last year.

14/07/2008 38.25%
07/04/2008 33.75%
04/02/2008 32%
17/12/2008 29%
20/08/2008 24%
28/05/2007 22.5%
06/05/2007 20.75%
11/03/2007 19.5%
29/01/2007 17.5%

Horizon Lines will also raise its fuel surcharge by 4.5 percentage points - from 39.75 to 44.25 percent - for its Guam and Micronesia service routes. The price increases will come into effect on August 17th and 21st respectively.

In a letter to its customers last week, the company said "Horizon Lines understands that this adjustment impacts your cost of doing business, just as these fuel cost increases have affected our cost of providing service."

Rival shipping firm Matson Navigation Co. last boosted its fuel surcharge on July 13th from 33.75 percent to 38.25 percent. The company is understood to be mulling whether to match Horizon's latest fee increase, but has not yet come to a decision.

Meanwhile, Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines LLC also raised its surcharge on July 13th by 4.5 percentage points from 32.75 to 37.25 percent. The firm is said to be reviewing market conditions before making a decision regarding whether to raise its fuel surcharge further.