Lawmaker: Tote’s cargo shipping price hikes to impact 80% of imports

Rep. José Aponte Hernández (Facebook via José Aponte Hernández)

By THE STAR STAFF

Rep. José Aponte Hernández on Sunday denounced a move by shipping company Tote Puerto Rico to impose another price increase on consumers during the Christmas season by significantly raising the container rate from $425 to $485.

The increase, set to take effect on Dec. 8, will impact over 80% of the products entering the island, the veteran lawmaker said.

“I have been consistent on this issue. Tote Puerto Rico unilaterally decided to raise costs, increasing not only the container fee by $60 but also the charge per cargo vehicle in use from $69 to $79,” Aponte said. “Additionally, the transport fee for breakbulk cargo (merchandise that does not fit in containers) has risen to $108 per 2,000 pounds, resulting in a $13 increase. These are excessive hikes during the Christmas season, which is one of the busiest periods for cargo arriving on the island.”

“The company justified the rise in container handling fees by citing costs related to security in the Puerto Nuevo port area,” the chairman of the House Committee on Federal and Veterans Affairs added. “We are considering investigating this, given that in August, the elimination of the container inspection system was announced because it was deemed inefficient and costly. Tote promoted this elimination, claiming it would reduce costs and that those savings would be passed on to consumers. Now, it appears that is not the case; on the contrary, they want to impose another increase, which will primarily benefit them.”

Aponte pointed out further that “Puerto Nuevo Terminals (PNT) -- a consortium formed by the merger of Luis Ayala Colón (LAC) and TOTE-Puerto Rico Terminals (PRT) -- controls 70 percent of port operations, essentially creating a monopoly. This control allows them to impose these increases, which I reiterate, will have a significant real impact on our people’s finances, lacking any consideration.”

The latest increase comes less than a year after Puerto Nuevo Terminals implemented a steep hike in multiple container storage areas, including the “System Recovery” fee, which increased from $3.50 to $6.50 per container, and introduced a new “Infrastructure Fee” of $15 per unit.