Procurement Professional is the official publication of CIPS Australasia

Patrick considers levy as Brisbane rents rise

19 Aug 2010

Source: Supply Chain Review

The Queensland Trucking Association has received a letter from Patrick Container Ports advising the stevedore is considering a new levy to recoup its growing costs.

According to the letter from Patrick Divisional Manager Paul Garaty, rent and charges at the stevedore's terminal at the Port of Brisbane have increased by 400 percent since December 2005.

Garaty asserts that this level of increase is substantially greater than increases in Sydney and Melbourne despite land valuations in NSW and Victoria being traditionally higher than in Queensland.

“We note that a significant number of port users have had no alternative but to introduce what has become known as an ‘infrastructure levy’ as they attempt to cover the increasing cost of operating within the Port Precinct,” Garaty writes.

While Garaty says Patrick's focus to date has been to avoid the imposition of additional costs on the supply chain, through efficiency and productivity initiatives he says the time has come to re-evaluate the situation.

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