Container parks, which store empty containers and provide services such as cleaning and repairs, are a vital but often undervalued component of the supply chain. Essentially every loaded import and export container will need to pass through a container park at some stage.
Over the Christmas/New Year period the container parks servicing Fremantle experienced unprecedented stock levels largely as a result of the downturn in global trade. This effect was also experienced around the other Australian ports and was primarily due to shipping lines holding onto empty containers longer because of reduced demand in Australia and overseas.
The high stock levels significantly exceeded efficient operating levels and resulted in slower processing times for trucks, in turn creating extensive queuing along the port’s roads and excessive truck waiting times which flowed onto the rest of the supply chain.
Fremantle Ports, with the WA Port Operations Task Force, worked with shipping lines and container parks to address these problems. It was not until late January, however, that stock levels started to decline to the point where normal operating efficiency was again possible and delays were avoided.
There are a number of key initiatives that have been identified to avoid a build-up of container stocks, particularly at peak periods such as the lead-in to the Christmas season. The following are priority actions:
extending container park operating hours
planning for additional container park capacity at the port
encouraging development of more off-port park capacity, and
developing a container park vehicle booking system, similar to that used at the container terminals, to provide for a more orderly flow of trucks to the parks.