Asciano questions multiple operators
The head of Australian stevedore Asciano has questioned whether having three competitive stevedores in the Australian waterfront industry is viable in the long-term.
Chief executive John Mullen says that while competition from Hutchison Port Holdings to Asciano/Patrick and DP World was welcomed, in the longer-term he felt the market would revert to two operators.
He predicted that the chances of three full-scale stevedores co-existing and competing with equal market shares in ten years’ time was “pretty slim”, given the level of the capital investment needed.
