Southeast's freight surcharge hits its highest published level

Alaska Marine Lines is raising the fuel surcharge on Southeast Alaska freight from 16 percent to 22.5 percent, a 41 percent jump in the charge and the highest rate in the carrier's published record. It applies to everything moving to, from and within the region, which means goods leaving Southeast and goods moving between Southeast communities carry it too, on top of the freight bill itself.

Most of the carrier's other lanes do not move. Hawaii stays at 31.5 percent. Dutch Harbor, the Aleutians and Kodiak stay at 31. Only Southeast and the Yukon rise by 6.5 points.

Since December 2024 the Southeast surcharge has more than doubled, rising faster than any other water lane, while the carrier's inland trucking surcharge fell from 38 percent to 13.4.

Those two numbers behave differently for a reason. The inland surcharge is tied by tariff to the Department of Energy's published diesel price for the West Coast excluding California, updated every Monday, so anyone can follow it. The rule governing the ocean surcharge sets out no equivalent formula. Those rates hold for months and then step.

What the ocean charge is based on, according to the company, is the cost of fuel and related items, capital costs tied to fuel, the nature of its services, and "the competitive environment in which we work."

The number can still change before it lands. In March the company told customers the rate would go from 11 to 15 percent in April, then filed again eight days later and moved the same increase to 18.5 percent, citing continued escalation in fuel costs since the first filing.

Shippers should watch the date. The notice announcing the increase gives an effective date of Sept. 28; the company's own rate table says Sept. 27. Freight moving on or after whichever day applies bills at 22.5 percent no matter when it was booked, and anything before it bills at 16.