Higher costs may be permanently embedded for Australian consumers and businesses as port companies reap historic profits from unchecked price increases, freight operators warn.
Profits for Australian stevedore companies, which load and unload containers at ports, rose for the fifth year in a row to a record high of $808.6 million in 2024/25, according to an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission monitoring report.
The total real revenue per container lifted was at a historical high of $423.11, up $21.93 from the previous year and $68.88 since 2019/20, the competition regulator found.
This occurred while the volume handled by most stevedores remained substantially the same, unit costs and productivity have been relatively stable and there remains significant excess terminal capacity.
The competition watchdog is concerned there is a market failure, with stevedores Patrick Terminals and DP World performing better now than when they were operating as a capacity constrained duopoly prior to the entry of minor player Hutchison Ports.
"We see this capacity available, and at the same time, the revenue per lifts going up and profitability increasing, at a time when we would have expected to see more competition between the stevedores to utilise their capacity," ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey told AAP.
In recent years, fees charged by stevedores to transport companies collecting or dropping off containers have significantly increased.
The fees, known as landside charges, totalled $1.15 billion and accounted for almost half of the industry's revenue in 2024/25, leaving the ACCC concerned stevedores were increasing charges "independent of the underlying market conditions".
The increasing prices to landside operations increased costs for importers who would have to wear some of the additional costs or pass them onto customers, and put exporters at a competitive disadvantage in their export markets, Ms Brakey said.
The ACCC report concluded government intervention was likely required to address apparent market failures and improve Australia's container freight supply chain to the benefit of households and businesses.
Representatives for freight and shipping operators said the findings reinforced escalating charges on them were not temporary or driven by cost recovery or productivity improvement.
"Without decisive and enforceable reform, these charges will continue to flow unchecked through the supply chain, embedding higher costs into Australia's trade competitiveness and cost-of-living pressures," the Freight & Trade Alliance and Australian Peak Shippers' Association said.
Patrick Terminals said the company's investments had enabled major supply chain cost savings and the next wave of planned investment would deliver further benefits.
"We will continue to engage with industry on enhancing our service offering over the coming period," chief executive Michael Jovicic said.
Hutchison Ports said it supported "practical, evidence-based reforms that strengthen efficiency and ensure fair outcomes for businesses and consumers".
