Letter from the President
This year has certainly started with good signs of being a growth year, signaling a strong underlying economic trend. At the same time, we also understand that many services and products have found the need to raise prices this year. Much of this pricing pressure is being driven by the uncertainty surrounding petroleum pricing. Our industry also has felt that impact on its raw material and delivery costs, which continue to increase.
Hancor operates as efficiently as possible on all fronts, including the management of its transportation costs. We now find that transportation costs are going beyond anything we have seen in the past and that we are able to further absorb. As a result, we now find it necessary to pass through fuel surcharges on our deliveries effective June 15, 2004. Please note, any direct ships that have pass-through freight will not have a Hancor Fuel Surcharge added.
Our fuel surcharge policy will be indexed geographically with actual costs to make it fair and equitable for individual customers – not just a flat rate that applies to the entire country. Hancor will use the fuel surcharge index developed by the U.S. Department of Energy known as the “Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices” so that the fuel surcharge truly reflects the market prices for diesel fuel in each region. For additional information, please go to our website starting June 10th at http://www.hancor.com/press/hotnews.html or directly to the U.S. Department of Energy site at http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/wohdp/diesel.asp.
Please be aware that if the national average for diesel returns to $1.15 (the transportation industry’s base fuel surcharge trigger price), the surcharge would be rescinded.
We sincerely wish to see fuel costs return to more reasonable levels. Please know, we are passing along only a fraction of the incremental fuel costs we have absorbed. Your support of this surcharge is appreciated.
Please contact your local Hancor sales representative with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Steven A. Anderson,
President
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