News from both Patrick and DP World this week has been all about delays and price increases. Additionally, Brisbane container terminals are recovering from the impact of the Christmas / New Year storms.
Patrick Terminal Brisbane was able to recover some fallen containers last week within a 24-to-48-hour period and were operational again from 2200 on 27/12/2023.
DP WORLD
DP World Brisbane experienced a major power and equipment outages last week, affecting maintenance of their Automated Stacking Cranes (ASCs) which are used to load and unload trucks within the Terminal. Their operations were fully suspended Friday night through to Saturday morning due to the weather, with work starting and stopping due to severe storms and lightning strikes, and then again on Monday.
This comes on top of notified Protected Industrial Actions (PIA) by the MUA, which continue with work stoppages of 2 hours’ duration and selective bans on loading and unloading trucks at certain times. This action impacts their container terminals nationally.
DP World has received advice from the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) division of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) regarding work bans and stoppages associated with the PIA for the period Tuesday 02 January to Monday 15 January 2024.
The outages combined with union action is resulting in truck turnaround times exceeding 5 hours. This has forced a number of transport operators to implement congestion surcharges for operations into DP World’s Terminals across Australia, including in Brisbane. Some are also charging truck waiting time or futile truck trip costs to their customers given the levels of disruption being experienced.
PATRICK TERMINALS
Patrick Terminals has announced new Landside and Ancillary Charges effective from 04 March 2024, to apply on full containers that enter and leave Patrick’s terminals. The terminal operator says that the “2024 Landside charges are required to support Patrick’s significant investment program and Patrick’s operational costs and property costs increasing at a rate above CPI.”
Patrick has decided to continue to maintain a concessional rate for export containers. The concession offered to East Coast exporters has increased to an average of approximately 30%. The average fee increase across East Coast imports and exports is 15%.
The Landside charge will be applied to both road and rail transport operators for all full container movements, both import and export, made at the Terminals.
As we begin 2024, operational conditions at all container terminals are looking very challenging.
See our related article form last month: Terminal Stoppages and Fee Increases.
For correct information about all your imports and exports, including associated fees and charges, contact us here at Colless Young. As licensed Customs Brokers and International Freight Forwarders, we take care of your cargo economically and professionally. Based in Brisbane, Colless Young provides a complete range of logistics services, including landed costings. We handle sea cargo and airfreight, at all major Australian ports and airports.
