Peel: Don’t dismiss regional ports

Speaking ahead of an appearance at Intermodal in Sao Paulo this week, Patrick Walters said that the supply chain should refocus on direct calls to ports closest to cargo centres rather than mega gateway hubs.

“Port selection needs to be based on proximity to market,” he said. “Loading or discharging cargo at ports which are remote from the initial origin or ultimate destination of cargo is costly, inefficient, risky and environmentally damaging.

“The model of mega-ports serving as gateways to extensive and increasingly remote hinterlands has to be questioned. Mega-feeders linking mega-ports do not alleviate congestion in the mega-hubs.”

Mr Walters believes that direct calls at regional ports, close to import and export centres, with transhipment occurring at transhipment ports, provide “real solutions for tackling congestion”, as well as cutting the costs of inland transportation.

But he concedes that taking advantage of those opportunities would mean a shift in the current mind-set of supply chains and services, which he claims are “stubbornly rooted to a small selection of mega gateway ports”.

To this end, Mr Walters has called on shippers and end users to take more of a role in lobbying lines to include calls at regional ports.