The ACCC’s container stevedoring monitoring program is undertaken under a direction from the Federal Treasurer pursuant to Part VIIA of the Trade Practices Act 1974. The ACCC is required to monitor prices, costs and profits of container terminal operator companies at the ports of Adelaide, Brisbane, Burnie, Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney.
The ACCC releases the monitoring reports annually.
The ACCC issued its monitoring report for the 2007–08 year on 5 November 2008. The report shows that unit costs and revenues remained steady in 2007–08. Profits, however, increased because of increases in volumes and improved productivity. The report also shows that, over the last 10 years, Australian stevedores have benefited from waterfront reform by becoming increasingly efficient and profitable. In turn, users of stevedoring services have benefited as the cost of using stevedoring services has fallen in real terms. Demand for stevedoring services is expected to grow over the next decade and this presents opportunities for more intense competition in Australian stevedoring.
The Productivity Commission has also published research papers into international benchmarking of container stevedoring. See the PC’s website for copies of these research papers. All publications relating to the Container stevedoring monitoring reports are located at Publications: Waterfront and shipping.
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