Off wharf problems could Stymie rationalisation
June 11th, 2009
Ports of Auckland CEO, Jens Madsen, says NZ Inc will need stronger strategies in place to support transport and infrastructure needs outside port gates as port rationalisation occurs. He believes it is inevitable a hierarchy or ports will emerge in NZ with just a few maintaining full international shipping links as shipping lines push to rationalise services using larger ships.
However, he is concerned NZ may face the same problems as the west coast of the US where an inability to handle growing loads brought in by ships forced ports there to come to a grinding halt in the 1990s. Madsen notes the terminals were equipped to handle and work 6000 to 7000 TEU vessels – but supporting off-port infrastructure was not, and major gridlock soon developed.
Madsen says the problem in NZ is freight being too reliant on road networks – 92% of freight by weight is moved by road at some point. Rail accounts for only 6%, while coastal shipping handles just 2%. “There is a vast under-utilisation of our rail and sea freight modes, and the connections between the various modes of transportation are inadequate. The reliance on roads means NZ’s supply chain is particularly exposed to congestion.”
There are also hidden costs of “carrying air” in the disproportionate number of empty containers handled by ports due to the seasonal and agrarian nature of exports. Madsen says “this inefficiency costs the entire supply chain and someone foots the bill, be it the importer, exporter, the shipping line and ultimately the public. More often than not, the bill is picked up by NZ Inc.”
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