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Cadence is a specialist and fully integrated development and funds management business, focused on the commercial and industrial sectors of Australia.
Cadence develops, builds and manages commercial and industrial property, providing an end to end solution for clients - tenants, owner occupiers and investors. |
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 | Price Distortions Set to Increase in 2020In late November, Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) in Melbourne announced a 43% increase in its Terminal Infrastructure Charge for all full containers handled effective from 1 January 2020, as well as increased vehicle booking system (VBS) fees and penalties for transport operators.
This coincides with announced increases in Infrastructure Charges (now being called Terminal Access Charges) and VBS fees by DP World across all of its Australian terminals from 1 January 2020, as well as the previous increases implemented at Hutchison Ports Australia terminals in Sydney & Brisbane.
Announcements by Patrick Terminals of further increases are anticipated in February 2020, for a 1 March 2020 commencement.
CTAA has been working closely with Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) to lobby individual State Governments to investigate the pricing and access issues behind these unprecedented cost "shocks", and their supply chain impacts.
CTAA welcomes the news that the NSW Minister for Transport, Andrew Constance, has warned the stevedores not to introduce the price hikes in NSW, and has referred the issues to the NSW Productivity Commissioner for investigation.
See: NSW Minister for Roads and Ports - Media ReleaseHowever, DP World has indicated that despite the NSW Minister's statements, their price hike will proceed from 1 January 2020. See: HereThe NSW investigation comes on top of the Port of Melbourne Pricing and Access Review due to be presented to the Victorian Government by the end of this year, and the concerns of the Minister responsible for ports in WA, Alannah MacTiernan, about announced price hikes by DP World despite the government-owned Fremantle Ports continuing to negotiate container terminal lease extensions in Fremantle.
It is hoped that the Palaszczuk Government, and Minister Mark Bailey, will take heed of these actions in the other major jurisdictions and act themselves to investigate the impacts in Queensland. |
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Price Distortion Impacts - Shippers are Paying Twice!
The price distortion in the Australian container logistics market is more complex than simply focussing on stevedore infrastructure fees.
Importers and exporters are actually paying twice for the same stevedore terminal container handling services - once when ever increasing stevedore infrastructure fees are passed on by transport operators, and again when they pay high Terminal Handling Charges (THCs) to shipping lines for the same stevedore terminal services.CTAA Opinion Here |
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Empty Container Park Fee Increases
As mentioned in the CTAA Opinion piece above, the majority of Empty Container Parks (ECPs) in Melbourne have announced significant increases in their truck arrival notification fees to commence in January 2020, citing reasons ranging from increased operational and labour costs, infrastructure requirements, IT fee increases, extended operating hours and/or EPA compliance costs. |
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Transport operators are now liaising with their customers to pass these costs on, with new rates for VBS and ECP slot booking fees.
As described below, CTAA held discussions in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in recent weeks involving transport operators and ECP operators to continue to find ways to try to reduce inefficiencies in empty container management, mitigate delays, and improve productivity.
CTAA Alliance companies who require copies of any of the ECP notices on fee increases should contact neil.chambers@ctaction.com.au |
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 | CTAA Container Logistics Meetings - December 2019
CTAA held a series of Container Logistics meetings in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in early December to bring together transport operators and empty container park managers to discuss operational issues. We also participated in the NSW Port Transport and Logistics Taskforce (PTLT) meeting, at which the draft Report on NSW Empty Container Management was considered.
In Melbourne, CTAA also organised fruitful (yet robust!) transport interface discussions with Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT).
CTAA is grateful for the support of Containerchain in the empty container management discussions, and to VICT for hosting the Melbourne meeting.
Read More |
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BMSB Season: Department of Ag General Update
The Department of Agriculture has issued its #2 edition general update on the BMSB risk season, including:
- BMSB treatment rates
- Further Class 4.7 Approved Arrangements finalised, and a range of applications being processed in NSW, VIC, QLD and SA; and
- Christmas operating hours
Read the General Update: Here |
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 | Heavy Vehicle Charges - Have Your Say!
CTAA has welcomed the Communique from a meeting of Australia's Transport Ministers on 22 November at which Minister's agreed to limit the increase in heavy vehicle charges (the Commonwealth Road User Charge component of fuel excise, and State / Territory registration charges) to 2.5% in 2020-2021 and a further 2.5% in 2021-2022, subject to consultation with governments.
Independent analysis of heavy vehicle cost recovery by the National Transport Commission (NTC) had recommended an increase of 11.4% for 2020-2021, which would be very difficult to swallow for the road transport industry given current economic conditions, including the drought.
The NTC has been directed to now conduct a public consultation on the proposed heavy vehicle charges increases.
While Transport Ministers through the Transport and Infrastructure Council may have recommended a compromise solution, it's by no means a foregone conclusion, and individual governments may decide differently (on registration fees), or the Commonwealth might apply a different increase to the Road User Charge (ROC) - it's happened before!
Transport operators are urged to have your say by submitting views to the NTC consultation process, however brief.
See: Here |
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 | CTAA Alliance Company Birthday Celebrations!! Two CTAA member companies are celebrating amazing anniversaries which are testaments to strong family business cultures.
Norman Carriers in Melbourne has achieved 70 years' of history - congratulations to directors Grahame and Ros Hearnden, and their Managing Director son, Gareth Hearnden (pictured above), on such a fabulous milestone!
Read about Norman Carriers: HereIn Brisbane, Lyn & Beven Dionysius (above) are celebrating 40 years' of success at Dionysius Transport, along with General Manager son Ashley Dionysius, staff, suppliers and customers. Again, a fantastic achievement!
Read about 4 decades of success at Dionysius Transport: HereCTAA is proud to support such strong family businesses, with the next generations set to continue the legacies! |
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Managing Fatigue at this Busy Time of Year
Denis Zumpe from CTAA Alliance Partner, CoR Comply has produced a snappy little Safety Alert on managing fatigue over this busy time in the transport industry in the lead up to Christmas and beyond.
Read More and Download a copy of the Safety Alert: Here |
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- Hutchison Updated Terminal Carrier Access Terms & Conditions - effective from 1 January 2020. Improved layout. Note particularly the reporting procedures and notification of claims in section 8.2, limitations of liability at 18.3 and the HPA payment terms at 5.2. CTAA still believes that HPA should align its payment terms with other stevedores at 28 or 30 days in light of increased landside infrastructure charges and VBS fees.
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- New Fair Work Information Statement - it is a legal requirement for employers to give every new employee a copy of the Fair Work Information Statement before, or as soon as possible after, they start their new job.
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- Port Botany Cargo Efficiency Operations System (CEOS) - the Cargo Movement coordination Centre (CMCC, Transport for NSW) has "gone live" with CEOS to provide an independent & comprehensive record of operations of the landside container logistics interface at Port Botany (road and rail performance measures).
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- NSW Mobile Phone Detection Cameras - now operating on NSW roads from 1 December 2019. Drivers should be made aware that after a three-month warning period, the penalty for offending drivers is five demerit points and a $344 fine ($457 in a school zone), increasing to 10 demerit points during double-demerit periods.
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 Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) is strong Alliance of leading businesses engaged in the container transport logistics industry.
CTAA Alliance companies account for the majority of containerised freight handled in capital city ports in Australia.
Visit our website: Here or consider joining? - ask us Here |
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