• Even as Australia tries to recover from the massive combined effect of a deep recession and pandemic, many of those in the supply chain are being subjected the new congestion and other charges and other practices more often seen in peak season in a healthy economy.
• As previously reported by IFCBAA, shipping lines such as ANL, MSC and CGA are now seeking to impose “congestion charges” for freight arriving at the Port of Botany due to a variety of reasons including protected industrial action at the wharves.
• Most empty container parks in Sydney have no capacity and requests are being made for containers to be held at the yards of Freight Forwarders & Customs Brokers.
• Maersk has announced that due to the congestion issues it will commence unloading Sydney bound cargo in Brisbane / Melbourne.

IFCBAA has taken a number of actions.

• Regular email updates to members which can be passed on to the customers of members advising of significant extra costs.
• Contact with the ACCC to express its concerns taking place at this time.
• Contact with the Federal and State Governments and their agencies to express concerns and seeking intervention.
• Contacts with other affected organisations to exchange information and discuss ideas to advance our common concerns.
• Working with our lawyers at Rigby Cooke Lawyers to assess the value of available legal remedies.
• Regular work across the industry with other members of the supply chain including commentary in the various media avenues.

IFCBAA wishes to make a few comments which are relevant at this moment

• IFCBAA has been working on a continual basis to address these issues.
• IFCBAA will continue to work through its contacts and options at Federal and State levels to support industry including the ACCC.
• These congestion charges and other issues cannot solely be the cause of the protected industrial action at the wharves.  The expiry of the EBAs has been on the agenda for some time yet action has now been taken suddenly mainly through rate increases. 
• There is no transparency in the imposition of these charges including how they are calculated and imposed which should be provided.
• There must be  better means to address issues at the empty container parks , there needs to be a long term resolution, there needs to be change.    
• Those at the land side end of the supply chain are suffering the most as they have to bear the charges and hope to recover them from their customers.  To assist that process, members should pass on details of all charges, fees and delays directly to customers immediately as they are announced so that customers are aware that these are not caused by the members.
• Raise the issues with State and Federal Government representatives and ask your customers to do the same.

We continue to work for the interests of members and their clients in the international supply chain.

To read the Deputy Prime Minister-Birmingham-Porter - Media Release - Sydney waterfront industrial action - 12 September 2020 , click  HERE