The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today granted authorisation to DP World Australia Limited and Patrick Stevedores Operations Limited to give preferential treatment to truck carriers engaging in dual runs (where a truck both delivers and picks up a container in the same run) at the Port of Fremantle for five years.
DP World and Patrick operate container terminals at the port and provide stevedoring services at their respective terminals.
The proposed arrangement is a government and industry initiative, intended to address the problem of road congestion at the Port of Fremantle and its effect both on the efficiency of the port's operations and on the surrounding community.
"The ACCC considers that the proposed arrangement is likely to improve efficiency at the Port through reducing the number of trucks required to move the same volume of containers. Reducing truck numbers will also improve community amenity around the Port and provide environmental benefits," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said.
The arrangement does not involve DP World and Patrick reaching agreement on the price or number of the slots they make available at their terminals for booking by truck carriers. These will continue to be decided individually. For these reasons, the ACCC considers that there are limited public detriments that may arise from the proposed arrangements.
The ACCC has granted authorisation for five years until 2 December 2015.
The ACCC may authorise this type of arrangement when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment. Authorisation provides immunity from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974.
The ACCC's determination will be available from the ACCC website.