Guam – The island’s big wholesaling companies are backing Bill 71-35, introduced by Senator James Moylan, which amends Public Law 33-106 passed during the 33rd Guam Legislature.
The law set load limitations for certain vehicles to lessen the load on Guam’s roads and assure their long-term sustainability.
However, the wholesalers who testified during the public hearing for Bill 71-35 said that Public Law 33-106 also increased the cost of transporting goods on island.
One of the wholesalers who testified was Joey Salas of Ambros who read the written statement of Ambros general manager Tom Shimizu.
When Public Law 33-106 was implemented, Salas said it had a major impact on the cost of Ambros goods because their second major cost component after the product itself is the cost of transport.
Another wholesaler who testified was George Lai, the president and owner of Quality Distributors.
Lai said Public Law 33-106 had the great intention of protecting the island’s roadways. However, the downside was that shipping and transport costs for Quality Distributors also increased.
Lai said they were forced to pass on the additional costs to the retailers, who, in turn, passed the additional costs to the consumers.
Senator Moylan, the primary sponsor of Bill 71-35, said Public Law 33-106 drastically reduced the maximum weight allowed on Guam’s roads. This resulted in importers reducing the amount of goods being brought in, resulting in an increase in the prices of commodities.
Later, in the Andrea Pellacani show at K57, Moylan said a balance has to be achieved to ensure that the cost of everyday goods are not increased because of the additional shipping and transport rates caused by Public Law 33-106.
“I think we have some really good information put out there by a lot of professionals and the companies that are involved strictly with this increase on their cost of moving goods from off the ship down to eventually the retail stores and how great that is eventually going to impact consumers in the end. So I think the voices heard during the public hearing were loud and clear.”
Moylan added: “We’re hoping to have this bill passed to come to a median. We do recognize that yes our roads need improvement. But this bridge formula is unfair and if we can remove this, it will help in lowering the cost of goods, which in turn greatly impact our everyday citizens who are just buying their basic needs.”
Moylan added that the law also increased the cost of hauling the goods from the port to warehouses because of the need for additional trucking.
