Trade Update - Port Botany Trade Grows to Record Levels as PBLIS Regulations Come into Effect

New regulations to reduce congestion and improve efficiency at Port Botany have been approved and will come into effect over the coming weeks.

NSW Treasurer and Ports Minister Eric Roozendaal said the Port Botany Landside Improvement Strategy (PBLIS) will reduce port congestion, and improve efficiency at the port, NSW’s largest container port.

“The aim of these regulations and standards is to drive improved efficiency and consistency between stevedores and truck carriers,” he said.

“This means if a truck operator is forced to wait; the stevedores must pay the trucking operator for the time they wait.

“With container trade through Port Botany reaching record levels, we need to ensure performance levels of stevedores and carriers improve to ensure the international competitiveness of the port.”

Mr Roozendaal said the regulations, which have been developed with industry, come into effect in early December.

The PBLIS regulations will ensure fairness and equity between stevedores and truck carriers and will also allow Sydney Ports to set the rail price for rail servicing at the stevedore terminals.

The first step will be to obtain vital landside performance information from the stevedores at Port Botany and setting a new regulated charge for rail servicing at the port interface to keep trucks off the road.

The regulations and standards are expected to be fully implemented by early 2011.

Mr Roozendaal said the reforms were coming into effect as Port Botany records its 13th container trade record on a month-on-month basis.

“The port is growing and will continue to do so. With these ground-breaking landside reforms, we have secured the long-term future and health of Port Botany,” he said.

In October, container trade reached 180,180 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs *), an increase of 1.8% on the same month last year.

Container trade performance for the financial year to 31 October 2010 was 0.707 million TEUs, up 11.2% on the same period last year.

Full containerised exports in October 2010 were on par with last year’s record levels, reaching 37,050 TEUs. The exports of four main commodities – chemicals, iron and steel, cereals, and paper products – remain the strongest.

Full imports for October 2010 were 90,050 TEUs, with the key import commodities YTD being: Chemicals (up 17.5%), Paper Products (up 16.0%) and Machinery and Transport (up 8.2%).

“These figures demonstrate the continued strength of the $400 billion NSW Economy,” Mr Roozendaal said.

Mr Roozendaal said total full container imports for the financial year to 31 October 2010 reached 348,700 TEUs, up 7.4% on the corresponding period last year.

The leading import regions were dominated by East Asia (47.7%), Europe (15.5%) and South East Asia (14.6%), which combined accounted for 77.8% of total container imports.

Total trade for the financial year to 31 October 2010 was approximately 10 million mass tonnes ¯ an increase of 6.2% compared to the same period last year.

*TEUs= Twenty Foot Equivalent Units – The standard international measure for container volumes

Full Media Release here.