Rising box volumes slows ship turnarounds at Australian ports

A Report has found that container ports in Australia are experiencing longer ship turnarounds as rising container volume faces static handling capacity.

The Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics (BTRE) quarterly "Waterline" report indicates that turnaround times lengthened in the December quarter compared to the September figures.

The average container turnaround time across the nation's five leading container ports of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle lengthened in December.

Patrick (owned by Toll unit Asciano) and DP World operate terminals at all ports, except for Adelaide where DP World has a container monopoly, a report by Blues, Brisbane said.

Trucks waited an extra minute in queues on average, with turnaround time on road movements climbing from 37.3 minutes to 38.2 minutes.

The BTRE figures show the five ports moved 661,441 containers in the December quarter, a 4.3 per cent increase compared to September.

It also indicates that crane rates have decreased from 27 containers per hour in the September quarter to 26.8 in December.

Container turnarounds have slowed at Sydney's Port Botany, with figures showing an extra two minute wait in the three months to December. Dwell times in Adelaide and Fremantle also rose, but Brisbane and Melbourne were said to have shortened their turnarounds.

Vessel working rates across the five ports increased from 35.2 containers per hour in September to 36.1 in December, the report added.