Matson Navigation Co., Hawai'i's largest shipping company, said it will lower its fuel surcharge — a fourth consecutive time in six weeks — by 2 percentage points for its Hawai'i service, to 25 percent from 27 percent.

The company also said it cut the surcharge for its Guam/CNMI and Micronesia service, by 2 percentage points, to 26.5 percent from 28.5 percent. Both cuts are effective Sunday.

"Following an extended period in which oil costs hit historical record highs, it is encouraging to see this downward trend continue to be reflected in the prices the company is now paying for bunker fuel," said Dave Hoppes, Matson's senior vice president for ocean services.

"While Matson has made a practice of giving 30 days notice of rate adjustments, we are again passing this decrease on to our customers as soon as possible so that they can quickly realize the benefits of this reduction during this difficult economic environment," he said.

For most customers, this represents a decrease in shipping costs ranging from $45 to $75 per container.

Matson's last adjustment to its fuel surcharge was a decrease of 6 percentage points for its Hawai'i, Guam/CNMI and Micronesia services, effective Oct. 19, with this latest adjustment, Matson's fuel surcharge will have been lowered by 17.25 percentage points since September 20.

The latest adjustment was announced in a letter to customers sent out today.