Fuel surcharges for international air express shipments have gone down around the world in Novemberafter ups and downs in recent months, CEP-Research analysis shows.
Following increases during the previous few months in response to rising oil prices,surcharges dropped back in September but then rose again in October.
In Europe, all four integrators have reduced their November surcharges. DHL Expresssurcharges fell to 11.5% for the period of 1 November-8 December from 12% in October. Similarly,FedEx surcharges went down to 12% in November from 12.5% last month. UPS reduced its fuelsurcharges to 12.5% in November from 13% in October. The TNT Express European surcharge dropped to15% in November from 16% in October, while its separate UK surcharge remained on the same level inNovember as in October at 8%.
In the USA, FedEx Express, UPS and DHL Express have also reduced their November 2009surcharges for domestic and international air express shipments to 6% from 7.5% in October. Despitethe drop, it is quite a high figure compared to the 2.5% for July and the two-month cut to zero inApril and May.
Following the general trend, air express surcharges in Asia fell as well. The DHL surchargedropped to 14% in November from 15% in October while TNT’s fuel surcharge also decreased to 11.5%in November from 12.5% in October. FedEx, whose surcharges vary by country in Asia, has reduced theexport and import fuel surcharges in both Singapore and in Hong Kong to 10.5% for the period 2November – 6 December from the previous 11.5% in October. UPS also reduced its air expresssurcharge to 13.5% in November from 14.5% in October.
The air express fuel surcharges for November reflect the oil price level two months ago. Thefour leading express carriers calculate their surcharges based on indexes showing the previousmonth’s oil price level and announce them in advance for the following month. This results in atwo-month time lag between prices and the surcharge level.
Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel on Monday on concerns about the threat that Hurricane Idaposes to US oil and gas production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. The first real weather threatto oil production of the 2009 season, the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday,but production remained curtailed as producers awaited its passage out of the Gulf, Wall StreetJournal reported. However, oil fell again slightly on Tuesday to $79 a barrel n the New YorkMercantile Exchange as the storm weakened. The Brent crude oil price in London also fell to $77.38.
Apart from the storm, the current real driver of energy markets is the weakened dollar asinvestors holding euros or other strong currencies can buy more dollar-based crude when the UScurrency falls. This has driven prices up throughout the year, according to the Associated Press.
