OCEANIA

Patrick surcharges contested by customers

9 years ago

Infrastructure surcharges imposed by stevedoring company Patrick at its Australian terminals are being blamed on higher rents and taxes, but customers have reacted strongly to the new list of charges.

Patrick's terminal at Port Botany is one of the locations where the company has imposed infrastructure surcharges.

The surcharges have been introduced at the Patrick terminals at Port Botany and Fremantle, with existing surcharges at Fisherman Island in Brisbane and East Swanson Dock in Melbourne also being raised. The new charges take effect from July 10 and apply to road and rail transport operators for full container movements, both import and exports.

In a statement to customers, Patrick said it regretted the change but had been left with no alternative. “Rent, land tax and council rates continue to increase considerably across Patrick’s terminals. We have been notified of rental increases within our property portfolio of over 140%, with some being backdated to July 1, 2015. These increases place a significant additional cost burden on our operations.”

Patrick chief commercial officer (Port Botany), Ashley Dinning, said that since 2015, Patrick’s investment in landside infrastructure of more than A$285m had resulted in landside efficiency improvements, cutting truck turnaround times and congestion, with no investment costs being passed on to customers.

However, industry body Road Freight New South Wales says it will call on the NSW Government to stop the new tax being implemented until after industry consultation. It believes the tax is being used to offset the costs of ongoing terminal privatisation.