Hutchison Ports Ignores National Guidelines for Landside Stevedore Charges

28-APRIL-2022

To Valued Customers & Partners,

We would like to share the below notice from Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) regarding Brisbane & Sydney Terminal Infrastructure Levies:-

In the last few weeks, Hutchison Port Australia (HPA) has advised increases in its landside Terminal Infrastructure Levies at its Brisbane and Sydney Container Terminals:

  • Brisbane: Notice issued online on 30 March 2022 of an increase to $162.10 per full container from 1 May 2022 (i.e. 33 days’ notice).  This is an increase of 21.79% (from $131.10).
  • Sydney: Notice issued online late on Friday, 22 April 2022 (ahead of a long weekend) of an increase to $159.98 per full container from 1 June 2022 (i.e. 39 days’ notice).  This is an increase of 17.20% (from $135.65).

It is very concerning that HPA has chosen not to adhere to the voluntary National Guidelines for Landside Stevedore Charges endorsed by all Federal & State Transport Ministers and published by the National Transport Commission (NTC): National Voluntary Guidelines for Landside Stevedore Charges.

HPA has ignored the agreed voluntary protocols, with notice periods less than 60 calendar days, and no detailed rationale for the significant percentage increases advised.

And, even more concerningly, transport operators and their customers are not seeing any land landside productivity improvements or offsets for these higher prices.

Transport operators and their landside customers are now paying higher prices, again with no ability to negotiate the landside fees imposed, with scant rationale provided for the increases, yet are demonstrably copping poor terminal performance.

The question remains … is this fair and reasonable?

The increases now make the Infrastructure Levies charged by HPA in Sydney and Brisbane the highest landside infrastructure fees of any other container terminal in Australia.

If forwarders, importers, and exporters want to avoid these high landside charges at HPA, as well as allow their transport providers to avoid lengthy truck delays, then it may pay them to consign their ocean freight with shipping lines that do not use Hutchison Ports Australia (HPA) for their stevedore services in Sydney or Brisbane.

Read more detail in a CTAA Media Release

In the meantime, should you have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your SILA Sales representative.

Thank you,

SILA Global Pty Ltd