“Quicklook” Assessment of Greater Adelaide's Assets & Challenges ...

Porters 5 Forces
Risk of New Entry by Potential Competitors
High – Rail is coming
Low – air
Degree of Rivalry Among Domestic Established Industries
High – Other ports
Bargaining Power of Buyers
High – Alternatives are available
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Low – The industry is mature and capital expenditures are minimal.
Threat of Substitutes
Low – Choices are air, rail, or ship.
Discussion and Comments
Ports Corp South Australia manages six regional ports - Klein Point, Port Giles, Port
Lincoln, Port Pirie, Thevenard and Wallaroo. During 1999/2000 6.8 million tons of cargo
were moved through these regional ports - with 4.7 million tons exported to markets
outside of South Australia. Goods as diverse as citrus, grains, oil, scrap metal and live
sheep are handled through these ports, an indication of their capacity to handle a broad
range of materials iv The discussions included concerns of the industry which are bulleted
below:
Charter purely directed at commercial shipping; traditionally had ten ports in suite
of assets. Seven ports will be sold and the SA for tourism purposes will retain
three ports.
Annually conducts $31M turnover business. Total employee count of 140 with
most working in full time employment.
Port Adelaide has Australia's only unique purpose-built on-dock intermodal
facilities that are integrated with the container terminal and national rail and road
system for the efficient transfer of cargo. v
Ship around 13 ½ to 14 tons of cargo a year. Bulk and semi bulk cargos generate
approximately 70% of revenue and physical activities. Bulk business is tied to
agriculture community and is tied to world market and seasonal conditions.
Small container business constitutes less than 20 that have small container
businesses. Annual container business is approximately 140K tons per years, but
capacity is 250K tons a year. In the container area there are opportunities to
expand by use with the automotive industry. This concept involves importing
parts and then exporting the finished product.
The balance of the port is heavily skewed to exports. Location of container is an
issue. For every container that is imported, there are approximately 3 containers
that are exported. Containers have to be shipped in from Sydney to make up
imbalance and they don’t often have a sense of urgency or availability to
redistribute the containers.
Holding time for imported container goods is 15 to 18 hours before ship arrives
because of customs. This is a lower time than at other ports.
The Adelaide funded rail to Darwin is seen as a competitor to the shipping
industry. They view the possibility that goods may be taken by rail and then
shipped from a northern port. Exports arrive at shipping location approximately 4
hours before ship departs. Goods are loaded directly onto the ships. This
process takes less time than at other ports (most ports require a full day). 75-
80% of trade is packed on site.
COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE
118