DCN December Edition 2019

Sixty days lead time is insufficient and is
in fact a reduction to similar announcements
DPWA made the previous year that offered
a 90-day lead time. We received an example
of the impact to a major WA exporter that
these charges will cause significant losses
on existing forward supply commitments
and threaten the future viability of much
of their business.
“These fee increases equate to more
than $1.50 per tonne on every container
that we ship through DP World Fremantle
from 1st January 2020. This fee has also
been without consultation or sufficient
pre-warning, extending the losses to our
existing businesses caused by the abovementioned
Low Sulphur Fuel Surcharge.”
SUPPLY CHAIN IMPACT
Furthermore, transport operators are
understandably passing Infrastructure
Surcharges/Terminal Access Charges
down the supply chain, usually with an
additional administrative fee causing a
further cascading effect of costs onto
exporters and importers. Again, this adds
weight to our argument fees should be
negotiated and paid via contracted parties
and not imposed on transport operators.
RE-BALANCING REVENUE RECOVERY
DPWA provide a general rationale of
increased Infrastructure Surcharges/
Terminal Access Charges at each of their
four container terminals that they are
experiencing rising costs in the most
dynamic and competitive market conditions
in decades. DPWA claim a need to rebalance
revenue recovery from waterside to landside
to adequately account for landside costs and
being fundamental to a sustainable future
in this challenging market.
If the stevedores are in fact
“rebalancing” revenue recovery, then the
obvious beneficiary are shipping lines who
are paying them less. The latest ACCC
Container Stevedoring Monitoring Report
2018-19 shows revenue from quayside
falling from $266.10 per lift in 2009/10 to
just $190.40 per lift in 2018/19, almost a
40% reduction. The report also says since
the last reporting period (between 2017/18
and 2018/19), the quayside revenue per lift
has reduced by 8.1%.
Remarkably, in a depressed economic
environment, stevedores have still
managed to increase average revenue per
container lift for the first time in seven
years. According to the ACCC report, this
is attributable to the continuing cycle
of increases in stevedore Infrastructure
Surcharges. Something does not stack up
as shipping lines are certainly not passing
on savings to exporters and importers via
lower terminal handling charges. The result
being that exporters and importers are
copping a double whammy of increasing
charges without any offset or reduction
in shipping line administered terminal
handling charges.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While Infrastructure Surcharges/Terminal
Access Charges provide stevedores with
a healthy profit, they have significantly
increased the commercial strain on
logistics service providers who must carry
the impost of the charges in the first
instance and ultimately pass costs onto
exporters and importers.
Paul Zalai, director and co-founder of the Freight
and Trade Alliance and secretariat to the
Australian Peak Shippers Association
According to the World Bank Group
report Doing Business 2019, Australia
ranks 103rd for “trading across borders”
which measures a variety of costs
including domestic transport. These
spiralling increases in unregulated fees
administered by Australian stevedores
will only further negatively impact on our
international standing.
While we continue to benefit from Free
Trade Agreements, Mutual Recognition
Arrangements and the like, our respective
state and federal governments now need
to look at market access barriers at our
ports and introduce regulation to support
our trade sector. More must be done to
ensure a level-playing field for shippers and
transport operators.
INFRASTRUCTURE SURCHARGES - AS AT NOVEMBER 2019
Image supplied
STEVEDORE
PORT
INFRASTRUCTURE
SURCHARGE/ TERMINAL
ACCESS CHARGE
DATE
COMMENCED
TERMINAL ACCESS CHARGE
INCREASE COMMENCING
1 JAN 2020
Flinders Adelaide Container Terminal Adelaide $28.50 per full container + GST 1 Jul 18
Australian Amalgamated Terminals Brisbane $38. 70 per full container + GST 8 Nov 18
DP World Australia Brisbane $65.15 per container + GST 1 Jan 19 $89 per container + GST
Hutchison Ports Brisbane $50 per full container + GST 19 Aug 19
Patrick Brisbane $71.50 per laden container + GST 4 Mar 19
DP World Australia Fremantle $8.22 per container + GST 18 Sep 17 $45 per container + GST
Patrick Fremantle $7.50 per laden container + GST 12 Mar 18
DP World Australia Melbourne $85.30 per container + GST 1 Jan 19 $98 per container + GST
Patrick Melbourne $82.50 per laden container + GST 4 Mar 19
Victoria International Container Terminal Melbourne $85.00 per full container + GST 1 Mar 19
DP World Australia Sydney $63.80 per container + GST 1 Jan 19 $91 per container + GST
Hutchison Ports Sydney $63.11 per full container + GST 18 Nov 19
Data collated courtesy of the Australian Peak Shippers Association, Freight & Trade Alliance and the Container Transport Alliance Australia
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