It’s not really a good reason to stock up on rice and toilet paper, but those items along with many other goods are going to cost more to ship to Hawaii next year.

Matson Inc., the largest ocean cargo transportation company in the state, announced Tuesday that freight rates to and from Hawaii will rise an average 5.4 percent effective Jan. 4.

The hike means it will cost an extra $225 per westbound container and $110 per eastbound container.

The increase is kind of an annual ritual for the Honolulu-based firm, which made nearly identical increases this year and the previous two.

Matson said moderately higher rates are a way to offset rising operating costs and help pay for investments in equipment without undercutting service quality.

"The adjustment is consistent with our longstanding philosophy of implementing modest, incremental increases as necessary to maintain the highest levels of service,"Dave Hoppes, Matson senior vice president of ocean services, said in a statement.

Matson has spent about $1 billion over the past decade on equipment, including containers and four new ships. Last year the company committed to pay $418 million for two new ships expected to be delivered in 2018.

"Matson remains committed to continuing to make long-term investments that will provide the state with a modern, reliable ocean transportation infrastructure,"Hoppes said.

Though the extra cost to ship a container next year is significant, the impact on individual items packed in the metal boxes can be quite small.

For instance, it will cost 10 cents more to ship a 20-pound bag of rice, according to Matson. It will cost 1 cent more per head of lettuce and 3 cents more for a six-pack of canned beverages.

Roughly 80 percent of what is consumed in Hawaii is imported, and 98 percent of that comes by sea, according to state estimates.

Matson handles about two-thirds of all goods shipped to Hawaii, with two main competitors — Horizon Lines and Pasha Hawaii — handling most of the rest. Often, Horizon andPasha match Matson’s rate increases.

Competition among the three ocean cargo haulers is expected to shrink next year with a pending acquisition of Horizon’s Hawaii operations by Pasha.

One difference with Matson’s rate hike this year is that it is not accompanied by an increase in a terminal handling charge.

Matson initiated the terminal handling fee in 2003 to give customers a better idea of what they are paying for. The item covers onshore expenses billed by third parties such as crane costs and paying stevedores who load and unload containers from ships.

Last year Matson raised the terminal handling fee by $50 per container.