Peak body Road Freight NSW (RFNSW) has called on the ACCC to intervene on ongoing increases to fees for truck operators at Port Botany landside and empty container parks.
In the latest round of price hikes, the notification fee for truckies using the MCS Cooks River Intermodal Terminal container park has been increased to $256.91 – that’s up from $55.00 five years ago.
The new fee, which takes effect on August 18, comes just six months after landside increases in surcharges at the DP World and Patrick stevedore terminals at Port Botany.
RFNSW CEO Simon O’Hara says the series of increased charges at Port Botany and at a range of container parks across Sydney was having a cumulative impact on trucking operators already struggling financially.
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“We are very concerned about the ‘domino effect’ these ongoing price hikes are having on our RFNSW Members – once the stevedores come out with a new increase, ECM operators follow on with their new charges soon after that,” he says.
“More and more truck operators, particularly those smaller, family-run businesses are suffering as a result of these exponential increases in operating charges. It’s hurting their bottom line and will unfortunately, be passed through the supply chain and on to consumers.”
O’Hara says the freight industry was already at ‘breaking point’, citing a record number of insolvencies, including the collapse of XL Express and Transtar Linehaul and the voluntary departure from the industry of Don Watson Transport.
“Our members are operating on wafer-thin margins. Regulatory burdens, workforce shortages, and increases in fuel and tyres are making their businesses unviable. That’s why these unwarranted, fee increases imposed by stevedores and ECM operators, must stop,” he says.
“RFNSW believes it is time that the ACCC steps-in and re-examines landside pricing. NSW can’t afford to have any more transport companies hit the wall.”
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