Deloitte to probe transporter infrastructure charges and other issues
Terms of reference have been released and Deloitte Access Economics secured to undertake Victoria’s Port Pricing and Access Review (PPAR), it has emerged.
Promised on the release of the Victorian Freight Plan, Delivering the Goods document, following a growing national outcry from port haulage and trade supply chain interests, and revealed by former state transport minister Luke Donnellan nine months ago, the development will be watched closely by other states.
A terms of reference document, signed by present ports and freight minister Melissa Horne on May 5, states: “This review will assess port pricing/charges at, and access issues into and out of, the Port of Melbourne.
“While industry is currently concerned with the infrastructure charge, it is important that any review of charges is carried out in the context of the overall Port of Melbourne container supply chain.
“For the purposes of this review, the Port of Melbourne container supply chain is defined as the movement of import and export containers from the wharf to the port gate, not from origin to final destination.”
A Freight Victoria-chaired review advisory board (RAB) of bureaucrats and regulators is to oversee the process.
Deloitte’s consultations with interested parties – including the likes of container stevedores, container shipping lines, importers and exporters, truck and train operators, the port lessee and government stakeholders – begins in the coming days.
It will present monthly progress reports, an October draft report and a November final report with recommendations to the RAB.
Read how container logistics matters have been gaining scrutiny, here
Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) is keen to see the review progress.
“CTAA welcomes the fact that the review can finally commence, and we look forward to engaging with Freight Victoria and the consultants from Deloitte as they conduct the review,” CTAA director Neil Chambers says.
“There are many issues of access between road (and rail) operators and container stevedores at the Port Melbourne beyond the unregulated nature of the landside infrastructure charges levied by the stevedores on transport operators.
“We hope that this Review will peel back the ‘layers of the access onion’ and recommend ways to make the interface fairer, more efficient, more productive and price competitive.”
CTAA will engage with Deloitte and Freight Victoria on the review at a meeting of CTAA Melbourne wharf transport operators on August 20.
The review terms of reference are – “The reviewer is to examine how efficiently the Port of Melbourne container supply chain has performed over time. In doing so, the reviewer should assess:
- the cost to cargo owners of moving a container through the Port of Melbourne and the breakdown of those costs
- the current contracting arrangements among participants within the supply chain and the implications of these arrangements for supply chain costs;
- the extent to which market power is held by key participants in the Port of
- Melbourne container supply chain and whether this has changed over time
- reasons for recent increases in container stevedores’ infrastructure charges
- the impact of recent increases in container stevedores’ infrastructure charges on transport operators, cargo owners and any other parties
- access arrangements facing transport operators into and out of the port, including:
- terminal access arrangements (carrier agreements) between transport operators and stevedores
- the vehicle booking system and the incentives and costs it creates in relation to accessing the port
- any other impediments to landside performance
- potential improvements to existing landside performance standards and reporting
- any other relevant matters.”