The Australian Federation of International Forwarders (AFIF) has slammed a move to impose an Emergency Port Congestion Surcharge on DP World at Port Botany, Sydney as misleading and has urged its members to take advice and make their own decisions regarding the move and its possible impact on their businesses. In a prepared statement AFIF said: "The recent imposition of 'surcharges' by numerous and varied entities, both on land and ocean, to cover various risks and perils and costs of operating a business is becoming increasingly frustrating for the consumer and/or their service providers, namely the forwarders, brokers and transport operators at the destination.
In a competitive free market, any business has the right to reasonably increase prices to its customers, provided that in doing so it observes trade practice laws at a minimum and, ideally, is fair and reasonable. AFIF contends that to use the term Port Congestion Surcharge would indicate a bottleneck at 'the Port'.
The fact of this particular matter is that it is congestion at one stevedore within Port Botany. Publicly declaring that a "Port Congestion" surcharge is required and applicable is perhaps misleading. The issue of increased costs due to delays, in our view, needs to be addressed with that operator by the individual shipping line and a variance to the stevedoring contract be made accordingly. If the line has to increase its freight rate because it uses that stevedore, so be it. Then in a free market the consumer decides which shipping line to use."
AFIF slams ‘Emergency’ surcharge move
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Thursday, 23 December 2010
The Australian Federation of International Forwarders (AFIF) has slammed a move to impose an Emergency Port Congestion Surcharge on DP World at Port Botany, Sydney as misleading and has urged its members to take advice and make their own decisions regarding the move and its possible impact on their businesses. In a prepared statement AFIF said: "The recent imposition of 'surcharges' by numerous and varied entities, both on land and ocean, to cover various risks and perils and costs of operating a business is becoming increasingly frustrating for the consumer and/or their service providers, namely the forwarders, brokers and transport operators at the destination.
In a competitive free market, any business has the right to reasonably increase prices to its customers, provided that in doing so it observes trade practice laws at a minimum and, ideally, is fair and reasonable. AFIF contends that to use the term Port Congestion Surcharge would indicate a bottleneck at 'the Port'.
The fact of this particular matter is that it is congestion at one stevedore within Port Botany. Publicly declaring that a "Port Congestion" surcharge is required and applicable is perhaps misleading. The issue of increased costs due to delays, in our view, needs to be addressed with that operator by the individual shipping line and a variance to the stevedoring contract be made accordingly. If the line has to increase its freight rate because it uses that stevedore, so be it. Then in a free market the consumer decides which shipping line to use."
