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Rail Network Disruption Sydney to Perth
On 25 October, the Condobolin section of the Parkes to Broken Hill rail line was closed due to a significant flood event.
Pacific National, the major Rail operator in Australia for cargo made a decision at that time to continue to run services between Sydney and Perth, but running via Melbourne, to ensure ongoing support for their customers.
This route takes up to an additional 16 hours and is 400km longer than the usual route via Parkes and Broken Hill, which lead to additional costs in both fuel and labour. Initial advice received was that the line could be open within a week, depending on the impact of the ongoing weather event.
On that basis, Pacific National made the decision to absorb these costs for the additional routing. Unfortunately, following a second major flooding event, the latest advice is that the line will be out until at least the end of the year, however indications are it could extend into February.
Pacific National has advised that it will not be economically possible for them to continue to absorb these additional costs. Pacific National has reached out to the Australian Rail Track Corporation to compensate rail operators for the additional costs, incurred running via Melbourne, during the period of the outage but so far no word yet on whether this will be possible.
The timing is not ideal as we head into the Christmas peak period and any shippers looking to move cargo between Sydney and Perth should contact their Key Account Manager for alternate arrangements.
DP World Announce New Fees and Increases to Existing Rates
In accordance with the National Voluntary Guidelines 60 day minimum notification period, DP World Australia last week released its Public Tariff Schedule outlining a wide range of price increases (effective 2 February 2023) in Fremantle, Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne.
Following the Patrick Stevedoring lead and effective 2 February 2023, DPWA are also introducing a “Pondus” charge for weight mis-declarations at their Melbourne facility declaring that “The introduction of this device will ensure accurate container weight information is recorded and assist in maintaining safe and efficient landside operations”.
Any containers with a weight variance greater than 1 Tonne will incur a Mis-declaration fee of $232.00 Additionally to this , a new “Energy Charge” will also apply and be paid by transport operators nationally, again effective 2 February 2023 citing “The Charge has been introduced in response to several factors that have materialised including adverse geopolitical conditions, variations in the exchange rates between Australian and US dollars and continuing significant volatility in energy markets.”
The Energy Charge will be billed at $5.30 per container for NSW, VIC and BNE and $2.50 per container for WA applicable to both import and export routed containers.
Rate Pressure Forces First Carrier out of Thailand
With the continuous downtrend on freight rates to Australia, TS Lines have announced they will be dropping their Laem Chabang direct call and replacing it with Port Kelang in 2023.
Instead they will be offering Laem Chabang via Shekou on a 35-40 day transit time to Australia. With the high price of chartering vessels and low demand on space currently, it seems there may be other carriers forcing schedule changes to try and keep vessels full and avoid big losses as the freight market continues to stay low at a time when traditionally rates would be at their highest levels.
With the removal of the TS Lines Direct option from Thailand, this will no doubt have a ripple effect on rates with the remaining carriers and time will tell if the other players can sustain the current market conditions in Thailand and other Asian trade lanes.
Biosecurity Act Amendments Increase Fines
New amendments to the Biosecurity Act 2015 will increase penalties for breaches of the act.
These amendments, which passed Parliament this week, allow the government to react swiftly to biosecurity threats. Failure to comply with these new requirements will result in civil penalties of up to $266,400 or an on-the-spot fine of $4440.
Minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry Murray Watt said these changes ensure Australia can adapt and respond to evolving risks and meet the challenges of the next decade and beyond.
“Biosecurity threats are increasing due to a rise in the volume and complexity of trade, the effects of climate change and the ever-increasing worldwide spread of pests and diseases,” Mr Watt said.
“The new measures will strengthen Australia’s biosecurity system, helping to protect our $70.3 billion agricultural export industries, protect 1.6 million jobs across the agriculture supply chain, and protect our way of life. The measures will also be used to target and respond to future threats which could potentially include lumpy skin disease, African swine fever or Xylella.”