The ports around Australia are all struggling with a number of issues and therefore a good time to provide an update:

1. Sydney

There is substantial congestion in the port within Sydney which has not settled n the last few months. Sydney is also struggling with the empty container parks being close to or above capacity.

We are continuing to work with transport and shipping lines to reduce the impact to our clients.
2. Melbourne

Melbourne has been working relatively well over the past few months. Whilst we see some impact with BMSB requirements the ports are working to a standard which we haven’t seen in the past few years.
3. Brisbane

Brisbane is the port with the most issues as this time. With all the weather in the south of Queensland plus a grouping of vessels to arrive at the same time, Brisbane has been a port in disarray.
Timeslots are difficult to obtain to pick up the container and empty container parks are refusing to accept the empties.
There is also delays in Brisbane with tailgate inspections and getting officers from DAFF to be available. All of which adds to delays and additional costs to importers and exporters.

4. Fremantle

Fremantle has been subject to severe weather impediments and the lack of staff and equipment to move containers.

Whilst the issues in Fremantle change week to week there is a lack of consistency which is making the overall process cumbersome.

All of the above issues increase the time it takes to organise and communicate deliveries to importers and exporters. It adds to the costs in the case where drivers get turned away from ports and empty container parks.

Unfortunately the direct costs need to be passed on including but not limited to container detention and we see these issues compounding as BMSB commences and we get closer to peak season.

Peak season has been reasonably soft to date due to issues like inflation however we have seen a number of blank sailings and skipped ports to allow shipping lines to contain the reduction in freight rates.

On top of this the general increases in timeslot, terminal handling, infrastructure, transport fees and delays with processing by Department of Agriculture is putting a lot of pressure on the industry as a whole.

VoxGroup is continuing to implement strategies to assist our clients in moving goods to and from Australia. Please speak to our dedicated staff with any queries you have.