Australia operations update in advance of approaching long weekends 11/04/22

Vessel bunching

After multiple weather events in both Brisbane and Sydney, the flow on effect to Melbourne is coming. Unfortunately, with the upcoming short weeks for Easter and ANZAC Day, delivery plans will inevitably be impacted.  We ask for patience throughout this period as we safely move as many containers and freight as possible, understanding that empty parks limit their operating hours, which will lead to continued congestion at the depots.

Labour shortages

There are still significant supply shortages of labour across the supply chain.

Roadworks

Major roadworks on the West Gate Freeway, Monash Freeway and Princes Freeway in Victoria continue to provide challenges.  With roadworks and several lane closures some nights heavily reducing speeds and therefore truck efficiency to the South-East.

Empty parks and Stevedores

Delays at Stevedores, minimal slots (day and nightshift) and continued poor turnaround times in the larger empty parks are all leading to poor efficiency and congestion in transport provider yards.

As a result of vessel delays, exports are continuing to build in yard’s adding congestion within yards.

The result of these challenges are significant increases in costs to operate, ongoing market congestion and, as a result of the ongoing workload, fatigue amongst the workforce.

Public holiday surcharge

With Easter and ANZAC Day long weekends approaching, obtaining last-minute slots and additional slots is going to be extremely difficult. Slots will be at an absolute premium and will be very hard to come by. Any containers collected over the long weekends will be subject to additional charges including Public Holiday Surcharges, Transport back to Yard , Yard Storage, Lift and all other associated charges.

Our teams continue to monitor the situation closely. We will contact customers regarding any affected bookings but please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or concerns.