The organisation representing New Zealand’s largest cargo owners says POAL’s recently announced price rises and new charges need to be accompanied by equally significant increases in productivity, to at least what they were pre-Covid-19.
Current Ministry of Transport data shows port ship productivity, e.g. number of containers moved on and off a ship per hour in Q2 2023 is 46.71, which is 42% below Q2 2019 (80.46). This in itself is a significant problem for shipping lines and cargo owners but is even more concerning given the significant impact to vessel schedules and cargo liftings at all other ports of call around the country.
Chair of the NZ Council of Cargo Owners, Mike Knowles, said that if importers and exporters are expected to pay more, they have a right to expect productivity gains.
