Car imports drive port result
Revenues at Ports of Auckland have been boosted by the Auckland construction boom and an ‘‘overwhelming’’ number of imported cars.
Building materials volumes are up, cement volumes through the port have risen 50 per cent in the past two years, and car volumes have jumped 20 per cent in the past year.
‘‘As a consequence we are experiencing capacity constraints on our general wharves, with some ships having to wait at anchor or at berth to unload,’’ chief executive Tony Gibson said.
To cope with the flood of cars at the wharves, the port is considering building a huge car park, the first stage of which could hold 1500 vehicles.
Gibson said it would have to be ‘‘iconic’’ to satisfy those who see the waterfront as an important visual centrepiece of Auckland’s downtown.
The port had been directed by Auckland’s mayor to look into removing or reducing cars from the waterfront, but a report that would be shared later in the year showed that the emissions of driving the cars down from Northland’s port outweighed the benefits.
Releasing its annual results yesterday, the port reported a lower profit of $60.3 million for the year to June 30, down from $84m the previous year.
However, the previous year included a $17.6m gain from the reversal of an impairment.
About $1.5m had been spent on protec- ting its container terminal where partial automation is taking place.
Automating the terminal’s straddles will boost productivity but will put about 60 of its 420 terminal workers out of work. A retraining programme for those workers was being put in place.
‘‘But we will not be laying people off soon after we press the button on automation,’’ Gibson said.
Higher cargo and container volumes saw revenues rise more than $11m to $222.4m. Container volumes rose 5 per cent to 952,331 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), while almost 300,000 cars and light commercial vehicles were delivered.
Work was also under way at its 30-hectare Waikato freight hub, as the port develops a North Island supply chain. Gibson said these plans provided an alternative rather than a duplication of Port of Tauranga’s own growing freight network.
During the year, the port also bought back a half-stake in Nexus Logistics, giving it 100 per cent ownership.
The port’s shareholder, Auckland Council, will receive a slightly lower dividend of $51.3m, compared with $54.3m the year before.