Who are the Winners & Losers?
CTAA has written to Federal & State Ministers seeking an inquiry into charges for container stevedore services in Australia.
The two dominant stevedores have taken advantage of the unregulated market to impose massive increases in Infrastructure Surcharges to make up for the revenue they have forgone (or will forgo) in stevedore contracts with Shipping Lines.
But, that’s only part of the story…
All Shipping Lines charge shippers (importers and exporters) a Terminal Handling Charge (THC), either identified separately or embedded in an overall Port Fees charge, which covers the cost of handling containers at the container terminal, including the stack and landside movements. It would be reasonable to expect that any cost reduction to the shipping line for stevedoring and terminal services should be reflected in a corresponding reduction in the THC levied on shippers. Alas, this is doesn’t seem to be the case. Are the foreign-owned Shipping Lines financially benefiting from lower stevedoring rates charged by the stevedores, while maintaining high THCs?
Are shippers effectively now paying twice for the same service?
CTAA has asked for an inquiry into the relationship between:
- Stevedore and terminal rates to shipping lines;
- Terminal Handling Charges (THCs) applied by shipping lines to shippers; and
The implementation and quantum of the Infrastructure Surcharges levied by the stevedores on transport operators, which are consequently passed onto shippers.