EXPORTERS in the New England North West region could save $2.8 billion in the next three decades with a container terminal at the Port of Newcastle, a report has found.
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The report, which features a case study on Namoi Cotton among others, compares container transport costs for Newcastle with those for Port Botany and Port of Brisbane.
It found the savings ranged from $193 to $583 per 20-foot container (TEU).
Port of Newcastle chief executive officer Craig Carmody said the report found exports from northern NSW and the Hunter region could increase by $1 billion by 2050 as a result.
The privatised Port of Newcastle wants to build a state-of-the-art container terminal at Mayfield.
“For northern inland NSW, a world-class container terminal in Newcastle would reduce the cost of transporting a standard container of goods by up to $564 – a significant saving for any business trying to compete internationally,” Mr Carmody said.
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“A Newcastle Container Terminal will mean more jobs, a reduction in unnecessary road and rail movements, and cheaper freight costs for regional importers and exporters.”
Namoi Cotton logistics and commodities manager David Titterton said it railed produce from its Wee Waa and Warren warehouses and packing facilities to Port Botany.
He said this was “very inefficient” and “expensive”, because it had to go via three different rail networks and, if delayed from catching the departing ship, had to go into a container park, increasing costs by up to $300 per container.
“Going through Port Botany is becoming increasingly difficult,” Mr Titterton said.
“Going through Newcastle shortens up the supply chain.
“There is more time available to manage cycle times.
“If you do get slowed up somewhere, you are going to catch up; you are not going to miss a complete train.”
Mr Carmody said the world’s shipping companies were moving to very large vessels – those handling up to 18,000 TEU – which substantially reduced the cost per container.
“Australia’s east coast ports are unable to efficiently accommodate these large vessels, which are twice the size of the maximum the capital cities can handle,” Mr Carmody said.
“Port of Newcastle is regional Australia’s global gateway and already has the deep channel and the road and rail landside capacity to manage these super-sized container ships.
“There is strong interest in this opportunity from a number of globally significant port operators, as well as from the community, which recognises the need to transition our economy and make Australia more globally competitive.”