Waterfront Productivity
In 1995–96 approximately 70 per cent of Australia's imports and 78 per cent of exports were transported by sea, amounting to approximately $60 billion in trade. This however does not include the revenue on car importations.
Data were collected throughout 1997 by the Productivity Commission, comparing international container stevedoring performance for the same ships and trades. The data indicated that Australia charged generally higher, productivity was lower and services were less reliable than overseas. With the exception of bulk grain loading, other areas of traditional stevedoring also performed relatively poorly. It also found that marine service and port infrastructure charges were, in total, two to three times greater than at overseas ports – noting that only some of this reflects cost-recovery pricing in Australia.
Together with other problems in the transport chain, this under-performance was not only resulting in higher direct costs to shippers, but also significant indirect costs from delays and unreliability which could have been reduced. Overall, the international benchmarking revealed significant scope for improvement in Australia's performance.
Read more about this topic: 1998 Australian Waterfront Dispute
Famous quotes containing the word productivity:
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—Ann C. Crouter (20th century)