FTA / APSA - more mainstream coverage on unreasonable container detention fees

special note of appreciation is extended to Sky News for their ongoing coverage on international shipping. A vital opportunity was provided yesterday to Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) to highlight freight costs, unreasonable container detention practices, congestion in empty container parks etc. Also probing questions on the U.S. Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) 2022 and whether similar action is likely in Australia. The film crew are off to ACFS Port Logistics this coming Friday to complete the story for filing in their Sunday Business edition.

Earlier today we received the following NSW Empty Container Working Group Communique recording a load / discharge ratio at .95 over a 3 month period. This is doing little to help congestion at our empty container parks (92% to 95% capacity across all Sydney empty container parks). It is encouraging to note that more empty container capacity will come on line - hopefully this can keep pace of growth of international trade. Paul Zalai - Director FTA |  Secretariat APSA | Director GSF

NSW EMPTY CONTAINER WORKING GROUP COMMUNIQUE       Dear Freight Stakeholders,  The Empty Container Working Group (ECWG) met on Wednesday 14 June 2022.  Snapshot of performance in the empty container supply chain Members of the working group previously identified several performance targets for the supply chain. To support this, monthly performance reports are produced by Transport for NSW using aggregated and de-identified data presented to the Empty Container Working Group at each meeting. Performance for April 2022 is summarised below.    Key observations from the April 2022 report included:  Load discharge ratio: Total import volumes were steady year-on-year, while total export volumes were up 2 per cent year-on-year. The load-discharge ratio for April 2022 was 0.97, up from 0.95 for April 2021. Container storage dwell time: Shipping line container dwell times fell 1 day, from 11 days in April 2021 to 10 days for the same period in 2022. The data for the dwell times at Empty Container Parks (ECPs) have not been provided by all the stakeholders since July 2021. The dwell time at one of the ECP for April 2022 was around 15.66 days. Empty container storage and utilisation of operational capacity: 92% of operational capacity was utilised at sites closest to the port for April 2022, down from 95% per cent in March 2022. Empty container storage-capacity offered, truck take up/arrival patterns: Aggregated data for April 2022 shows overall slot utilisation is 40 per cent at ECPs across Sydney, whilst after-hours (before 5am and after 5pm), and on weekends utilisation was 26 per cent and 11 percent, respectively. Direct return storage - capacity offered, truck take up/arrival patterns: Data indicates slot availability for direct returns of empty containers to stevedore terminals and Cargolink for April 2022 – approximately 32 per cent overall utilisation, and 12 per cent utilisation after-hours (before 5am and after 5pm). Provision of pre-advice information (electronic delivery order) in ECP booking systems: The overall provision of electronic delivery orders (EDO) remained consistent at 72 per cent for April 2022, an improvement on the same period last year where provision of EDO was 66%. De-identified information on utilisation of operational capacity at selected ECPs in Sydney is now being published in the TfNSW Open Data Hub, along with the load discharge ratio. Data can be downloaded from TfNSW Open Data Hub and Developer Portal  Empty Container Parks Road Operator Survey results update  Additional empty container capacity of approximately 6,000 TEU coming online within the next 12 months at a new park at the Ex Origin Energy site in Port Botany. Additional container stacking area is being constructed in the DP World Logistics site, with the removal of a large shed. The area will be predominantly used for the storage of empty containers. Date of next meeting: Wednesday 10 August 2022