A NEW shipper body has been formed to probe the capability of existing legislation to address “persistent market failure” in container port landside charging.
The Australian Shippers Alliance (ASA) is a newly formed, independent group of cargo owners examining whether provisions under Part X of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 provide a near-term mechanism for addressing the failings identified in successive ACCC Container Stevedoring Monitoring Reports.
Paul Blake. Image: Supplied
ASA facilitator, industry veteran Paul Blake, says the initiative arises from consistent findings by the ACCC that competition in container stevedoring and related landside services is weak, with cargo owners having little countervailing power and costs continuing to rise despite significant industry investment.
At the same time, recent commentary, including Shipping Australia’s call for a federal inquiry into port productivity, highlights growing concern that current commercial and regulatory settings are not delivering efficient outcomes for the Australian economy, Mr Blake says.
“ASA’s focus is not on replacing existing advocacy or reform processes, but on testing whether the existing legislative framework already provides a mechanism for Ministerial consideration where the objectives of Part X may no longer be being achieved in practice.
“In particular, section 10.67 allows the Minister to intervene where conduct by registered liner shipping arrangements hinders or prevents the achievement of Part X’s objects, even where that conduct is not unlawful.”
Mr Blake says the work being progressed by ASA is exploratory and evidence-based; it seeks to clarify whether the interaction between shipping lines, stevedores, and landside charging models has the practical effect of shifting costs away from commercial negotiation and onto cargo owners, transport operators, and ultimately the wider economy, a concern that has been repeatedly acknowledged but not yet resolved.
“ASA is currently holding confidential briefings with importers and exporters to explain the framework, the regulatory context, and the potential implications. No conclusions have been reached, and no formal complaint has yet been lodged. The intention at this stage is to inform the policy debate by examining whether existing law provides tools that have not previously been tested in this context.
“This is not about blaming individual operators, it’s about asking whether acknowledged market failure can persist indefinitely when the legislation already contains mechanisms intended to deal with exactly that situation.”
Mr Blake is a former chair and long-standing board member of the Australian Peak Shippers Association, where he was a leading advocate for Australian cargo owners under the Trade Practices Act and Competition and Consumer Act framework.
He is currently Principal of ASP Logistics Management, an independent advisory practice specialising in international logistics, port cost structures, and supply chain strategy. With more than 45 years’ experience in international logistics and supply chain management, Mr Blake says has delivered strategic and operational outcomes across diverse export sectors including horticulture, mining (including urban mining), forestry, dairy, grains and manufactured goods.
He told DCN ASA is “an independent industry initiative focused on fair, transparent and economically efficient shipping and port practices for Australian importers and exporters”.