Container terminal charges only add about 40 cents a week to average household expenditure, box terminal operator Patrick has declared.
Citing research by Synergies Economic Consulting, Patrick adds that the operating margins of stevedores cannot be credibly said to be adding to cost-of-living pressures, which, Patrick argues, can be found in other areas such as higher mortgage costs, and the increases in the costs of services such as health, insurance, education and more.
Patrick took the step of commissioning the report, and publishing the highlights, in response to an advocacy campaign by a well-known policy group that had been arguing that supply chain costs have been fuelling inflation.
That record has now been corrected by Patrick.
“The analysis shows that overall import supply chain costs represent approximately 7% of the total cost of goods imported into Australia. Of that 7%, container terminal fees (quayside and landside) account for only around 8%, implying that total container terminal fees account for less than 1% of the total cost of imported goods,” Patrick asserted, adding that: “The Synergies report concludes that it is misleading to suggest that cost-of-living pressures can be alleviated by intervening in the market for container terminal services”.
Michael Jovicic, CEO of Patrick Terminals said, “Patrick Terminals has invested close to $1 billion in terminal infrastructure and equipment, delivering capacity and efficiency improvements that have resulted in a major reduction of real costs. Investment in our landside operations have unlocked further supply chain cost reductions through more efficient truck servicing. Our current focus on developing rail capacity represents the next area of opportunity for further supply chain savings in the future.