The Landside Port Charges Index (LPCI) is released annually by NineSquared to provide a source of readily accessible data on container freight charges and how they change over time.
‘Landside charges’ refer to a slew of fees paid by transport operators (road and rail) moving containers in and out of ports on behalf of cargo owners.
NineSquared has released its 2023 update to the Landside Port Charges Index to reflect price increases announced over the past six months. Landside port charges across Australia’s five major container ports continued to grow strongly between 2022 and 2023, though the rate of increase has slowed compared to previous years. This year also saw a broadening of charges, with multiple new charges introduced, including a non-discretionary ‘energy charge’ and increased application of penalties for the misdeclaration of vehicles and container weights.
Our main indicator, the Access Charges Index, grew by 18% from 2022-2023. We estimate that a total of $1.3 billion was spent on access charges in the 2021-2022 financial year alone.
Given the impact these increasing charges have on supply chains, they are of interest to industry and policymakers. This year, The Productivity Commission released its Inquiry Report into maritime logistics in Australia. In it, they raised concerns about productivity at Australian ports, and about increased profits of container terminal operators at the expense of landside operators. In particular, they highlight the potential for unfair conduct in the application of container detention charges.
Our LPCI dashboard, which includes three indices covering Access Charges, Ancillary Charges and Penalty Charges as well as data on individual charges, is available below. In addition, we have published an updated 2023 insights report, a methodology paper detailing the construction of the indices, and a special report on container detention charges.
