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ACFS-Patrick prepares to open container parks 24 hours

Joint venture to have continuous operations on weekdays with other times to be booked

 

The impact on container port logistics of the ACFS-Patrick joint venture is due to be felt from Monday with 24-hour, five days a week container park opening hours.

The move in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne comes as the joint venture, announced in April, rebrands Patrick Empty Container Parks as ‘ACFS e-Depot’ and follows an operational and structural review since August.

“This advancement will significantly assist transport providers in the industry, and promote 24hrs operations in the container supply chain,” the joint venture has told customers.

“In addition to the extended hours of operation, we are working closely with Containerchain to implement e-Gate systems through all our facilities within the coming months.

“This advancement in systems will promote the efficient processing of trucks in and out of our facilities, through a paperless processing environment.”

The development has been sought since before the turn of the decade in the interests of off-port container transport and handling efficiency and productivity but been hindered by a number of supply chain, on-road and in-depot operational hindrances.

“For many years, container transport operators and others in the container transport chain have been calling on empty container depots to extend operating hours as container transport volumes continue to grow through Australia’s capital city ports,” Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) director Neil Chambers says.

“Well, ACFS has heeded those calls, and, in a stunning development, is extending its empty container depot operating hours extensively from 9 November 2015.

“The challenge now will be for container transport operators and their import/export clients to respond by taking full advantage of these extended hours.

“Twenty-four hours a day operations, five days a week, and weekend/public holiday access by pre-arrangement – you can’t ask for more than that!”

The move comes as the e-Gate initiative makes headway.

“Since the announcement of e-Gate by Containerchain last month, five empty container depots in Melbourne have become ‘e-Gate enabled’, with Qube in Fremantle tipped to follow suit very soon,” Chambers notes.

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