Hawaii’s largest ocean transportation company is lowering a fuel surcharge for shipping goods next week, but the move only partially reverses a February increase.

Matson Navigation Co. announced Monday that it will cut its fuel surcharge to 42 percent from 45.5 percent effective June 17 because of a recent decline in fuel costs for its ships.

The reduction of 3.5 percentage points follows an increase of 5 percentage points in February that put the surcharge at its second-highest level ever despite three consecutive decreases in the later half of last year.

Even with the latest reduction, the surcharge will remain at an exceptionally high level — over 40 percent — where it has stubbornly resided for two years.

Matson also implemented a general rate increase in January that added $225 to the cost of a container shipped from the mainland to Hawaii, so for the average consumer, the fuel surcharge decrease will spell little relief and may be difficult to recognize.

The cost to ship a container for most Matson customers should come down by $80 to $140 because of the fuel surcharge reduction, according to Dave Hoppes, Matson’s senior vice president of ocean services.

The decrease will shave about 5 cents off a case of canned drinks, or two-tenths of a cent per can. The impact on a 20-pound bag of rice is 3 cents.

Walter Enriquez Jr., vice president of operations and marketing for local restaurant chain Big City Diner, said fuel surcharges that have mostly risen over the last several years during an economic recession and slow recovery were high enough to put some Hawaii restaurants out of business.

"Fuel surcharges get added into the cost of food — what used to cost us pennies or even a dollar now costs that much more," he said.

Big City Diner pretty much ate the fuel surcharge increases until about six months ago, when rising costs became too much to bear. "It’s gotten to the point where we had to pass on a part of it to the consumer," Enriquez said.

The latest fuel surcharge decrease will provide some relief to businesses, though typically relatively big movements need to occur for consumers to see prices reduced for things they buy, industry observers say.

Matson aims to recover 100 percent of its fuel expenses in Hawaii, which means occasional adjustments up or down following significant movements in ship fuel prices. The company tries to pass along fuel savings as fast as it can while giving 30 days’ advance notice for fuel surcharge increases, Hoppes said in the written statement.

"Escalating energy costs have impacted all businesses, as well as consumers, this year, with transportation companies especially hard hit," he said. "We are pleased to be able to make this downward adjustment to our fuel surcharge. … We will continue to monitor fuel costs and adjust the surcharge accordingly."

Fuel costs are a big expense for Matson. The company spent between $225 million and $300 million on ship fuel last year, according to an annual report from Matson’s parent company, Alexander & Baldwin Inc., which plans to spin off Matson into a separate company July 2.

During the first three months of this year, Matson collected $26.9 million more in fuel surcharges compared with the first three months of last year, an A&B quarterly report said.

Matson is the largest ocean cargo transportation company serving Hawaii. Competitors Horizon Lines and Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines have not announced any recent fuel surcharge decreases, but often follow Matson with similar adjustments.