Ocean Cargo Transport Fees Remain Elevated in June: BOJ

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Ocean cargo transport service fees remained elevated in June amid the continuing Middle East turmoil, Bank of Japan data showed Monday. The service price index for the sector in the latest reporting month jumped 52.8 pct year on year to 233.8 although the growth shrank 3.1 percentage points from May reflecting lower crude oil prices, according to the preliminary report. The overall services producer price index, which measures costs of services traded between companies, stood at 114.3 against the 2020 base of 100, up 3.2 pct from a year earlier. Of the 146 items covered by the monthly survey, 115 logged price increases and 16 posted declines. Freight packing fees went up 1.9 pct as many businesses passed on higher costs stemming from the Middle East tensions to clients. “We’ll keep a close watch on how long the trend to reflect rising labor and logistics costs in prices will continue,” a BOJ official said. Accommodation service prices grew 2.4 pct, with the pace of increase slowing 5.9 points from May due to weather factors including typhoons. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]