Australian Logistic Council Dialogue 1. Freight Data 2. Short Haul Rail Gary Dolman Head of BITRE 21 April 2016
1. Freight Data • BITRE – Collecting freight data for over 40 years • IA National Land Freight and Ports Strategies (2011) • Collaborative Freight and Port Initiative • BITRE support through: • National Road Freight Survey (by ABS) • Improved Waterline indicators (with Ports Australia) • New Freightline series (by commodity) • Bulk Ports report (2013) • Annual Trainline report (with ARA) • Commodity projections through ports (forthcoming) • Telematics based road freight data (with ALC and ABS) • Customs data (with Border Protection)
Overview of Freight Movements Data Performance: Volume Commodity Spatial Timely
ABS 2013-14 Road Freight Movements Survey results released November 2015 Key results include: • First survey for 13 years • Intercapital approximately 13.3% of all road freight in 2013 – 14 • Sydney –Melbourne ≈ 4.4% • Sydney –Brisbane ≈ 2.1% • Melbourne – Brisbane ≈ 0.8%. • National Road Network accounts for approximately: • 40% of all heavy vehicle use across Australia • 18% of all light vehicle use across Australia
Freightline 2011-12 North Queensland cane sugar flows sugar movements Key results: • Cane sugar flows ≈ 632.9 million tkms • Raw & refined sugar flows ≈ 1346 million tkms (~85% shipping Nth Queensland to Melbourne) • Molasses flows ≈ 215 million tkms • Total task ≈ 2 250 million tkms • Approx. 0.4 % of total domestic freight task • But 1.3% total domestic coastal freight
Future planned Freightline issues Rice freight movements 2011-12 preliminary estimates Resources & energy: • Coal (shortly) • Petroleum & petroleum products • Fertilisers Agriculture • Grains (cereals, pulses & canola) • Rice • Cotton Other • Road freight overview
Commodity trade projections & port capacity • Long-term projections of major import/export commodity trade flows • Assessment of port infrastructure capacity • Example – projections sheep meat (below) and meat exports & port capacity. Port capacity
Joint BITRE-ABS-ALC road freight data project Indicators Initially – GPS data 1. Freight travel time on key freight corridors 2. Congested freight network locations Later – in-vehicle and consignment data 3. Average freight vehicle performance (travel time, idle time, network speed, fuel use) 4. Origin-destination freight movements (origin, destination, commodity, mass/volume, route)
US Industry Report - Example Congested locations Average travel speeds
Early engagement promising Truck numbers Trucks stopping
2. Short-haul rail
Conceptual framework Short-haul rail should not work because of the short distances: Road Transport cost per container Rail Lower drayage and terminal Sea Rail costs 2 Drayage and 1 Sea Terminal costs Rail Rail Road A A B Distance A = “sweet spot” distance of A = “sweet spot” distance of less than 1000 kilometres 1000 kilometres
Conceptual framework Short-haul rail should not work because of the short distances: Road Transport cost per container Rail 2 Drayage and 1 Terminal costs Rail Road A A Distance A = “sweet spot” distance of A = “sweet spot” distance of 1000 kilometres less than 1000 kilometres
Why short-haul does work 1 Minimising terminal drayage costs Maritime containers involve drayage at one end (hinterland) only Value-adding at the hinterland terminal leads to drayage to/from the terminal being part of the logistics and production task and not a rail-specific transport cost Tight shipper catchment around the hinterland terminal Peaco processing plant and intermodal terminal, Donald, Victoria
Why short-haul does work Differential linehaul costs between rail and road 2 Train economies of density have been captured (“long trains”) Dominant (anchor) customers with regular (non-seasonal) demand Logistics that encourage consolidation at hinterland terminal Trend towards bulk commodities in containers Larger container vessels Railway track access fees that are less-than-full long-run cost recovery Low truck productivity Road congestion slowing truck/driver utilisation and (related)... Long distances between hinterland and port reducing truck/driver utilisation SCT intermodal terminal, Penfield, South Australia
Why short-haul does work Agents encouraging short-haul/hinterland terminals 3 Those demanding services: 1. Direct financial advantage o Logistics companies/shippers: Superior financial outcome Those supplying services: 1. Business opportunity o Train/railway operators: offering shuttles o Terminal owners: enhancing terminal throughput 2. Operational strategy o Port owners: transfer activities from scarce port land to offsite locations; port expansion conditional on reducing externalities 3. Economic factors o Governments : “environment, congestion, local development” policies 4. Competitive strategies o Port owners/stevedores/shipping lines: hinterland terminal/shuttle used to enlarge port throughput by making the port more accessible (bigger catchment area) and offering an additional service option
Tauranga – Committed Agents
Why short-haul does work Elements of each of these factors may sustain services despite the adverse economics via terminal value-adding 1 Minimisation of drayage “Low” rail linehaul costs and “high” road costs 2 dominant customers/distribution centres “low” track access charges low truck/driver utilisation 3 Interest groups that are motivated to encourage 3 Interest groups that are motivated to encourage short-haul/hinterland terminal short-haul/hinterland terminal
Why short-haul does work ... and the principles are consistent with experiences! Consider experiences with: Minto: short-haul, with clustered major distribution centres, regular traffic (electrics, o maltings, paper), poor road vehicle utilisation Altona: short-haul Cargo Sprinter train, but set against fast road links and short trains o Somerton: short- haul, which was “guaranteed to succeed”, with clustered major o distribution centres but excellent road vehicle utilisation Shepparton: medium-haul, served by existing T ocumwal train, with significant regular o customers, but with road vehicle utilisation then being enhanced by road upgrades Penfield: short-haul, with a single dominant 4PL * logistics customer and regular o export traffic, with negligible drayage Starting operations from existing traffic flows/anchor shippers reduces the need for deep pockets to sustain operations through a protracted traffic build-up period * non-asset owning comprehensive service provider
Why short-haul does work Thus the list of factors that are necessary for short-haul to occur is relatively short... 1. Drayage minimised: value-adding terminals Relatively “low” rail linehaul costs 2. 3. Motivated interest groups Short-haul rail is the economics of inland ports. Costs Road Rail A Distance “sweet spot”
Conclusions - with a focus on rail networks • Freight data improving – opportunities to crack commodity, spatial & timeliness problems • Improved data can identify regular high volume movement of consolidated freight – Rail’s strength • Short-haul rail can work – Where road freight costs are relatively high – And where inland terminals add value – And with motivated agents
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