Lyttelton terminal 'in trouble unless shippers change’

Press, 7 December 1978, Page 1

Lyttelton terminal 'in trouble unless shippers change’

The Lyttelton container terminal could not become economic while some shipping lines tried to regard Port Chalmers as the sole South Island container port, members of the Lyttelton Harbour Board were told yesterday. A report from the board’s outgoing chairman (Mr J. Brand) at the meeting yesterday said that the trade generated by the shipping lines was insufficient to ensure the terminal’s profitability. The terminal handled only 10 per cent of the port’s trade, and needed much greater support. Lyttelton was designated a container port in December, 1974. Mr Brand said, and the shipping lines had indicated that 40 per cent of South Island trade would go to Lyttelton and the rest to Port Chalmers. “The latest projections show only 25 per cent for Lyttelton and 75 per cent for Port Chalmers,” he said. "The board runs an efficient container terminal which has cost about SUM.

“Container shipping lines wanted container facilities constructed quickly. so the Government arranged an overseas loan for the container ports. “Unfavourable exchange fluctuations have meant that the board has a heavy commitment in servicing its share of the loan, which must be met by profitable use of the terminal*” Mr Brand said. Because of an expected growth in the trade, and a required lead time of two years, an application had been made for a second container crane, Mr Brand said. “This application was not granted, and the board faces a serious decline in trade,” he said. “The Ports Authority said in 1974 that Lyttelton and Port Chalmers should have identical containerhandling capacity. “This competitive balance will be upset when Port Chalmers gets its second crane in 1979. “The projected volume of only 16.000 containers a year for Lyttelton is not enough, and it seems that some lines are attempting

to use only one South Island container port. “The Otago Harbour Board has plans for a second container berth at Port Chalmers, but the next development in container handling facilities must be a second crane at Lyttelton,” Mr Brand said. The container terminal manager (Mr P. G. Morgan) said that the container throughput of 18,469 this year was below a break-even point of 20,000. “Tariff charges remain competitive with other New Zealand terminals, and the position will be alleviated when we achieve an annual throughput of 25,000 containers,” he said. Concern was expressed about the 17 per cent cargo decline at Lyttelton by the board’s general manager (Mr J. A. McPhail). Bulk cargoes, iron a?:d steel, machinery 7, motor vehicles, petroleum products, timber, and container goods had dropped since the previous year by a total of 362,456 tonnes including 302.480 tonnes in imports and 59,976 tonnes in exports.