DP World postpones Melbourne and Sydney infrastructure surcharge

After consultation with the Victorian Transport Association (VTA), DP World Australia has agreed to push back the introduction of its new fee for containers at its Sydney and Melbourne terminals by two weeks, to Monday 17 April.
“There is no doubt that the new infrastructure surcharge rates to be applied to full containers delivered via road or rail at DP World Australia’s Melbourne and Sydney terminals will impact significantly on the transport industry in terms of cost, profit margin and other economic variables,” VTA CEO Peter Anderson told Logistics & Materials Handling. “The VTA has been in close consultation with many operators that have expressed concern about the increases to the surcharge, and our advice is to quickly enter into discussions with customers to negotiate passing on the full financial impact of the increase as soon practicable.”
DP World has agreed to postpone the commencement date of the new surcharge to give operators and industry additional time to negotiate with their customers, and to alleviate short-term cash flow issues that could be experienced from the fee taking effect.
“The increase is indeed dramatic, and must be passed on by operators directly to their customers in order to mitigate its impact,” Anderson said. “It is important that customers understand that the costs of doing business for transport operators are increasing rapidly, and that transactional costs such as this surcharge, and similar increases to tolls and levies, ultimately must be worn by customers and the end user.