Patrick announces infrastructure fee rise

PATRICK Stevedores have confirmed an increase in infrastructure charges applying to full container containers entering or leaving their terminals. Effective from 4 March, the new charges for full containers are:

• Sydney $77.50
• Brisbane $71.50
• Melbourne $82.50

The Patrick fee increases from what is now to what was announced are:

• Brisbane 87%
• Melbourne 74%
• Sydney 89%

No increase has been announced for Fremantle, with a Patrick spokesman stating they would not know about that terminal “until we have been through the tender process and costs are known”. In a statement to customers, Patrick stated the infrastructure surcharges recovered “a portion of the full costs associated with providing these landside operations which are essential to continue to provide our customers with superior and efficient landside service levels”. “We regret this change to our tariff, but we have been left with no alternative in the current challenging economic environment without sacrificing infrastructure investment,” Patrick stated. The Patrick announcement comes hot on the heels of a decision by Victoria International Container Terminal to increase its infrastructure surcharge 77% to $85.00 per container starting from 1 March. The infrastructure surcharge is increasing from $48 per container, which was implemented on 27 March 2018. And DPWA’s most recent fee increases (starting on 1 January) are: