Dear Valued Customers,
Further to our communications in March regarding fuel-related cost pressures, I would like to provide an update as the situation continues to evolve.
As anticipated, ongoing geopolitical developments have sustained volatility in global fuel markets. While there have been periods of stabilization, the environment remains highly fluid, and underlying fuel costs continue to sit at elevated levels. These increases are now being more directly reflected in shipping line pricing structures.
As a result, Autohub will be introducing an Emergency Bunker Surcharge (EBS) for all vehicles departing Japan from May. This will be applied in addition to the existing Fuel Adjustment Factor (FAF) and all other applicable charges. By way of context, the EBS is a shipping line-imposed surcharge designed to recover short-term fuel cost increases that sit outside of the standard BAF mechanism. BAF is typically reviewed on a quarterly basis and therefore does not respond immediately to rapid movements in fuel prices. The introduction of EBS allows carriers to recover these costs in the near term, rather than deferring them into future material BAF increases.
While different shipping lines may apply this recovery effort in different ways – either through a separate additional EBS charge, or through materially higher BAF in the next quarter – the underlying cost recovery, and impact to the market remains consistent.
Autohub’s approach has been to apply these increases in a balanced and measured way, rather than allowing the full impact to flow through a single mechanism such as BAF, and want to smooth the cost increases and effects over time. This provides greater pricing stability and allows you to better plan, adjust, and incorporate these changes into vehicle pricing.
I appreciate that any increase is challenging, particularly in the current environment. As always, our priority is to remain transparent and considered in our approach – ensuring that adjustments reflect genuine cost movements while maintaining consistency and predictability for your business.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and review these adjustments regularly in line with market conditions.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact our team at customerservices@autohub.co.nz