The following items were addressed:- the DPWA notice was on the eve of the ACCC Container Stevedoring Monitoring Report 2018-19 - the report identifies that Australian container stevedores are losing revenue from lower container stevedoring rates in shipping line contracts - 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, this is attributable to the continuing a cycle of increases in stevedore administered Infrastructure Surcharges;
- while this charging regime serves to provide stevedores with a healthy bottom line profit, it has significantly increased the commercial strain on logistics service providers who must carry the cost of the charges in the first instance and ultimately pass costs onto exporters and importers - low margin commodity exporters are particularly hardest hit at a time also when drought and other supply chain pressures are impacting export growth generally; and
- in this context, we await with keen interest the findings from the Port Pricing and Access Review commissioned by the Victorian Government - there is a real sense of urgency about the need to address these unfettered and unregulated price increases.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT FTA / APSA urge members to supply evidence of commercial impacts of stevedore Infrastructure Surcharges, particularly as it impacts our exporters, local manufacturers and farmers.
Please send details direct to me at pzalai@FTAlliance.com.au
Paul Zalai - Director and Co-Founder, FTA / Secretariat, APSA |
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