Latest news with #PortofAuckland
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Port Of Auckland Fee Increases Cause Concern For Industry
National road freight association Transporting New Zealand is voicing strong concerns over the Port of Auckland's (POAL) announced increases to Vehicle Booking System (VBS) fees, warning these price hikes at the country's largest import port will have major repercussions for businesses and consumers. Trucks have been charged $130 per visit in access fees to the container terminal during peak hours since January 2025. This will increase to $180 in January 2026, $230 by July 2026 and $350 by January 2027. These fees are levied each time a truck accesses the terminal to deliver or collect a container. Billy Clemens, Head of Policy & Advocacy at Transporting New Zealand, is questioning the justification for these large increases, noting that POAL's productivity improvements have been minimal. "Our road freight members and their customers haven't seen an associated increase in Port productivity," he says. "In fact, from financial year 2023 to 2024 POAL's average truck turnaround time improved by only 1.5 per cent, or 17 seconds. I don't know of any road freight companies who could hike their prices by 170 per cent over two years following that level of performance." Clemens also challenges POAL's rationale that higher peak-time fees will incentivise off-peak deliveries. " Traffic data confirms that our members already do their best to avoid peak traffic because it's a nightmare in Auckland as it is. If they could, they would." "A survey by one of our major North Island members revealed that only 12 per cent of their customers could accept night-time deliveries of containers." Transporting New Zealand is warning that these increased costs will inevitably be passed on to consumers and exporters, making New Zealand goods less competitive on the international stage. All at a time when the Port is already comfortably surpassing its profit targets. Productive alternatives Clemens urges POAL and its owner, Auckland Council, to focus on enhancing productivity and performance rather than imposing higher fees on industry stakeholders. "One practical option we've previously raised with POAL is to lower VBS charges for dual bookings, where a freighter both drops off and picks up containers on the same trip." "If POAL wants to improve productivity, it should also look to its 2024 Annual Report. POAL was comfortably meeting its peak vs off-peak truck target, but failing on crane rate, ship rate, and import dwell time, amongst others." Cargo owners share concern at price increases Mike Knowles, chair of the New Zealand Cargo Owners Council, says the time-of-use approach is too simplistic to achieve significant behaviour change as the port is just one part of a complex supply chain. The Cargo Owners Council believes it is time for benchmarking of NZ port productivity against their charge structures. "We think the time is long overdue for a closer look at arbitrary fee increases that do not result in measurable service or infrastructure improvement - as things stand the ultimate loser here is NZ Inc." About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is the peak national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Our members operate urban, rural and inter- regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country. Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion.
Newsroom
13-05-2025
- Business
- Newsroom
Auckland port sails past profit target, bright light for council firms
A flat domestic economy and international trading uncertainty have failed to cool business through the Port of Auckland, which eclipsed its annual profit target with three months to spare. The port company has told its owner, Auckland Council, it now expects to end the year around 20 percent up on its $65m budgeted net profit, nudging $80m due to 'an overall excellent performance.' That is despite weaker vehicle imports and lower trade in construction materials as demand for cement and aggregates weakened in the Auckland region. A report for Tuesday's meeting of the committee overseeing Auckland Council-owned businesses says growth in container volumes, solid imports of coal among other 'breakbulk' products, and better than expected cruise liner and passenger numbers have contributed to the strong result. The port firm paid the council an interim dividend of $25m in March and says it is on track to meet the $45m full dividend after year's end in July. Separately, a decision to sell the company's shares in a Northland port joint venture should see the company's board meet a council request for a special dividend of $46m to the council for reinvestment in the new Auckland Future Fund. Port chief executive Roger Gray says the third quarter success was partly due to better laden container volumes in and out of the port. Since the end of the third-quarter on March 31, container volumes have eased but coal imports remain high as power company Genesis rebuilds its Huntly station stockpile to supplement renewable electricity supply in winter. The Auckland port company reported a strong third quarter for the financial year. Photo: Tim Murphy Port of Auckland Ltd is on track to lift net profit above $100m a year in 2027, after targeting $85m next year, he says. An agreement with the council in 2024 involves the port company contributing $1.1 billion in 'impact' over the next decade to the council – representing the total for its combined net profits accounted for by the parent body, rather than dividends paid. Gray hopes the trade in construction materials and cement, which have been low, will lift with demand from projects like the port's own Bledisloe North wharf, for which it has applied for fast-track approval, and the Precinct properties development on the site of the current downtown carpark. The firm is less optimistic about the cruise business – the season just gone had fewer ships than last summer but with more passengers, as the tourism sector struggled to regain cruise ship numbers. Overall, Gray sees the port company delivering higher net profits than previously outlined in its statement of corporate intent. It will not 'sit on our laurels' if the numbers can exceed previous targets. The good news at the port business stood out among the council-controlled organisations reporting their third-quarter updates to councillors for the Tuesday meeting. The Eke Panuku development and property business, which will be folded into the council organisation after July 1, reported favourable operating results but failures in its targets for asset sales as well as for completed new dwellings (just 66 of a planned 157). The stubbornly subdued property market means Eke Panuku will not contribute the $76m in sales of 'council's surplus property' required of it in the council's budget, having achieved just $8.1m in the third quarter from a quarterly budget of $46m. 'The property market is challenging from a wider economic perspective with significant numbers of listings and developers holding unsold stock,' it tells councillors. Eke Panuku says it has a further $57m of further conditional sales 'under negotiation' but that is listed under risks to the financials rather than a positive. The business has also been affected by two other council decisions. The restructuring of the council economic and events agency Tatāki Auckland Unlimited means it may not need to keep leasing a Wynyard Pt building for which Eke Panuku had a tentative deal to sell, as the potential developer had been spooked by the likely exit of the other council-owned agency tenant. And higher proposed development contributions set by the council for beyond July 1 had created uncertainty and made some developments 'financially unfeasible' in the eyes of potential buyers of surplus council properties. 'Sites continue to be taken to the market to test market appetite but any improvement in market sentiment is still to appear,' Eke Panuku reports. 'Inflation and interest rates have reduced but economic conditions are affecting demand. This affects the delivery of current and future SOI asset sale targets and regeneration outcomes, including construction of new dwelling units. 'It is taking longer to attract partners with capacity to achieve viable projects in current conditions.'
NZ Herald
12-05-2025
- Climate
- NZ Herald
Kea Kids: What secret is this 1950 Cadillac hiding?
A trailer for the new season of Poker Face, available on TVNZ+. Video / TVNZ The Port of Auckland CEO is letting us inside its tightly secured trade operation, to find out what products the city is importing and how it's so far been insulated from tariffs. New Pope announced and India and Pakistan tensions escalate. New Pope named as Cardinal Robert Prevost, takes name Leo XIV. Video / AFP Severe weather update with MetService head of weather news Heather Keats. Video / Michael Craig, MetService Premium The building is the largest infrastructure investment ever made by NZ Post. VIDEO / Michael Craig Christopher Luxon pre-Budget speech to BusinessNZ Nic Martin and Sophie-Maude rock out and jam together in an interview with NZME in Pāpā / Tom Eley Black smoke, signifying no pope, has emerged from the Sistine Chapel in the first decision of the conclave to elect a new pope. The Glen Innes Ministry of Social Development building on Mayfair Pl went up in smoke around 7am this morning. Video / Buhay Pinoy Sa New Zealand A woman has been arrested after her pet raccoon was found with a crack pipe in her car. Greg Foran talks leaving the airline and the state of the company and sector with Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking. Voting under way for new pope, high demand for New Zealand red meat and the labour market remains in sorry state. Emily Mains organises a free Tuesday evening run club each week in Clive, Hastings, for women runners to feel safe while they exercise. George won't let a wheelchair keep him from the climbing wall! Reporter Angelina is at the Halberg Games, where kids with disabilities are taking adaptive sports by storm.
NZ Herald
10-05-2025
- Climate
- NZ Herald
Deputy CEO of Customs NZ Paul Campbell provides an operations update
The Port of Auckland CEO is letting us inside its tightly secured trade operation, to find out what products the city is importing and how it's so far been insulated from tariffs. New Pope announced and India and Pakistan tensions escalate. New Pope named as Cardinal Robert Prevost, takes name Leo XIV. Video / AFP Severe weather update with MetService head of weather news Heather Keats. Video / Michael Craig, MetService Premium The building is the largest infrastructure investment ever made by NZ Post. VIDEO / Michael Craig Christopher Luxon pre-Budget speech to BusinessNZ Nic Martin and Sophie-Maude rock out and jam together in an interview with NZME in Pāpā / Tom Eley Black smoke, signifying no pope, has emerged from the Sistine Chapel in the first decision of the conclave to elect a new pope. The Glen Innes Ministry of Social Development building on Mayfair Pl went up in smoke around 7am this morning. Video / Buhay Pinoy Sa New Zealand A woman has been arrested after her pet raccoon was found with a crack pipe in her car. Greg Foran talks leaving the airline and the state of the company and sector with Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking. Voting under way for new pope, high demand for New Zealand red meat and the labour market remains in sorry state. Emily Mains organises a free Tuesday evening run club each week in Clive, Hastings, for women runners to feel safe while they exercise. George won't let a wheelchair keep him from the climbing wall! Reporter Angelina is at the Halberg Games, where kids with disabilities are taking adaptive sports by storm. 14 years on from the earthquakes, Christchurch city prepares to open a first-class stadium while the Cathedral sits unfinished in an empty Square.
