Used slots rise, but off-peak activity and truck turnaround performance falter
The container transport load is increasing despite the fewer number of ships calling at capital city ports, the latest figures show.
But despite that, some indicators, particularly related to landside performance where trucks are involved, are struggling to keep pace.
In its 56th Waterline report on container-port performance, the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) points out that the 3 per cent container-handling growth for July to December compared with the same period last year marks a return to trend but one that is not reflected evenly across ports.
The headline figures here are: Fremantle increased by 11.3 per cent, Sydney by 3.5 per cent, Brisbane by 2 per cent, and Melbourne by 1.7 per cent, while Adelaide declined by 2.6 per cent.
Fewer but bigger ships are calling, and they are handling more 40-foot containers than 20-foot containers.
Reflecting this, though not precisely, the total number of used truck timeslots in the five main ports increased 4.4 per cent in the September quarter and 3.1 per cent in the December quarter, as compared with the corresponding periods of 2013.
Similarly, the number of truck slots available in September and December quarters was 3.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent higher than a year ago.
Likely to be of alarm to congestion-sensitive transport ministers, off-peak activity declined.
Usage of off-peak truck timeslots declined 4.3 per cent across the five ports to 49 per cent in the September quarter of 2014, and 0.4 per cent to 51.5 per cent in the December quarter, as compared with the corresponding periods the year before.
The latest report echoes its predecessor on landside productivity, which again declined across the ports.
“Average truck and container turnaround timesincreased by 5.7 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively in the period July to December 2014 compared to the same period in 2013,” the report says.
“The only container port which experienced an improvement in these measures was Adelaide, where truck and container turnaround timesdeclined by 17.4 per cent and 14.4 per cent respectively.”