CTAA - Melbourne Empty Container Study Welcomed

CTAA has welcomed the announcement by Freight Victoria (Department of Transport) of the commencement of a Study into empty container management capacity and supply chain issues in Melbourne.  The following announcement has been received from Freight Victoria's Executive Director, Praveen Reddy: Dear Stakeholder   I write to inform you of the commencement of an Empty Container Park (ECP) Study which Freight Victoria has commissioned. We have engaged the consultancy NineSquared, led by Phil Bullock, to conduct the study which follows our commitment at the Voluntary Performance Monitoring Framework (VPMF) Industry Workshop in December 2020 to plan for the expansion of the Framework to other parts of the Melbourne container supply chain.   About the framework The Victorian Government is committed to ensuring transparency at the Port of Melbourne to assist Victorian businesses operate efficiently, productively and thrive in national and international markets. We're creating a state based VPMF, including a set of performance indicators for the Port which both industry and government agree are consistent, measurable and meaningful. The framework will promote a shared understanding of performance at the port and ultimately performance of the end-to-end landside container supply chain to identify where improvements may be best targeted. In the first instance, performance of the container stevedore landside interface will be monitored. Expansion to empty container operations is planned.   About the ECP study NineSquared will undertake a targeted review of the empty container supply chain in Melbourne. NineSquared has recently been involved in the development of the NSW Empty Container Study and participates in the associated working group.   The key objective of the project is to provide advice on how this part of the container freight supply chain should be considered in work to develop the Voluntary Port Performance Model (VPPM). Input from industry stakeholders will be sought as part of the work, particularly in regard to issues in the empty container supply chain, an appropriate suite of performance indicators which will improve transparency of performance, and other actions industry and Government may take in the future. We will provide updates on the project as work progresses over the coming months.   Phil will be contacting a selection of key stakeholders in the empty container supply chain to participate in consultation. We value your contributions to this work and thank you in advance for your time.   If you would like to discuss any aspect of the proposed work, please do not hesitate to contact me at Freight Victoria at the Department of Transport via email at freightvictoria@transport.vic.gov.au   Regards   Praveen Reddy Executive Director Freight Victoria Department of Transport    Level 8, 8 Exhibition Street, Melbourne Vic 3000 T: (03) 8392 6196 | Mobile: 0412 632 847 E: praveen.reddy@transport.vic.gov.au transport.vic.gov.au   CTAA Response: CTAA has issued a Media Release (download: HERE) welcoming the appointment of consultancy firm NineSquared.  We have worked closely with NineSquared Director, Phil Bullock, and his colleagues on the NSW Empty Container Study and resulting industry / government consultations seeking improvements. The NSW Study estimated that current empty container management inefficiencies in NSW result in an additional cost of $49 million per year, which could blow out to approximately $100 million if not addressed.  And, that estimate was made before the current severe empty container congestion in Port Botany, which is ongoing.   CTAA anticipates that the Victorian study will discover similar added costs in Melbourne caused by inefficiencies and congestion.   Tight physical and slot capacity in many parts of the Melbourne empty container chain leads to:  Supply chain delays and added container handling; Increased empty redirections to alternative de-hire facilities; Added truck kilometres travelled and futile truck trips; Difficulties in obtaining suitable empty containers for export packing; and Fractious arguments between shipping lines, importers and transport providers about container detention fee demands when containers aren't de-hired within detention free timeframes. These issues and more are highlighted further in the CTAA Media Release. CTAA looks forward to working closely with NineSquared and Freight Victoria to ensure that key stakeholders in Melbourne's landside container logistics chain can input into the Study. CTAA Media Release - Melbourne Empty Container Study Welcomed

Servicing a Strong Alliance