| DP World - 30 Days' Notices on Landside Fee Increases in 2024: As reported to CTAA Alliance companies on in our Update on 31 October, DP World Australia (DPWA) notified industry on 31 October of its intention to impose significant landside fee increases at its terminals in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and to a lesser extent in Fremantle, from the beginning of 2024. In accordance with the National Guidelines on Stevedore Landside Charges, DPWA has now issued its Final 30-day Notices, which can be downloaded below: Responding to negative feedback about the quantum of the fee hikes, DPWA has indicated that the increases in Terminal Access Fees (TACs) for full import and full export containers will be postponed to 1 February 2024. VBS-related fee increases will be implemented from 1 January 2024 as originally intended. Responding to criticism about the quantum of the TAC increases for full exports in its east coast terminals, DPWA has explained that Export Access Fees have been trailing at a significant discount to Import Access charges "considering the level of capital investment is for the users of the terminal and benefits the Importers and Exporters alike." DPWA goes on to say "we offered a level of discounting to assist the Export market for a period and are working towards fully closing the gap in the coming years." The Notice says "DPWA can confirm the earliest period it may look to fully close the gap between Export and Import is no earlier than start of 2026. Export Access Charge can expect to trial Import Access Charge for at least another 12 months beyond 2024." Not good news for exporters! Background: In early 2019. DPWA was "blindsided" by Patrick Terminals who first introduced the TAC deferential between full exports and full imports in its east coast terminals in March 2019 to give some (albeit small) landside fee relief to exporters. DPWA countered two months later with a fee adjustment only five months after announcing its increases for 2019. This justifiably led to landside stakeholders urging Governments to act by including in the National Voluntary Guidelines on container stevedore landside charges a protocol that container stevedores should only adjust their landside fee structures once per year. While the one-month hiatus in imposing the TAC fee increases next year will be welcomed, it is not much relief in the longer term for ever-increasing landside fees imposed without adequate consultation with landside stakeholders. It also comes on top of the significant costs to landside stakeholders of the debilitating industrial actions being undertaken by DPWA's workforce and the maritime union in pursuit of their Enterprise Agreement bargaining claims. These strike actions, and the continuing lack of any agreement between DPWA and the maritime union on a new EA, have cost transport operators and their importer & exporter clients millions of dollars in lost productivity and supply chain disruption to date. The graph below (courtesy of Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA)) illustrates the rapid increase in landside TACs at DPWA terminals since 2017. Again, it is obvious from this graph that in WA, where the Government controlled port authority Fremantle Ports has direct influence on stevedore landside pricing through terminal lease clauses, the quantum of the fee increases is very much subdued. |