Asperindo members may soon raise tariffs to offset higher costs

Asperindo members may soon raise tariffs to offset higher costs

The Association of Indonesian Courier Companies (Asperindo)
has called for an increase in the tariff of express delivery
services in the country following the increases in operating
costs.

The secretary general of the West Java chapter of the
association, Dani Hernawan, said recently that the increase of
fuel in January and another rise last week had greatly affected
courier companies' operations.

"However, up till now, the prices for express delivery
services have not yet increased. We are still in a wait and see
position," he was quoted as saying by Cargo Times bimonthly
bulletin.

Dani said that it was a matter of time for the local couriers
to raise prices because the impact of the increase in the
operation costs could no longer be tolerated.

According to him, local courier companies have tried hard not
to raise prices, even after a significant increase in oil prices
in January, since courier businesses in the province were still
struggling due to the ongoing economic crisis.

Producers of textile and textile-related products, the main
customers of about 70 courier companies in West Java are also in
a difficult position. "Many of them are almost collapsing," he
added.

The courier companies should therefore find a breakthrough to
solve the situation such as trying to manage retail courier
business instead of relying on textile delivery orders, he said.
He predicted that textile companies would still face difficulty
to recover, given the growing competition from overseas producers
from China, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Dani said that at present, private express companies in West
Java only controlled about 30 percent of the courier service
market in the province.

He said that state-owned postal company PT Pos Indonesia which
had massive networks in almost all parts of the country
controlled 70 percent of the courier market in the province. (The
Jakarta Post)