Congestion prompts carriers to levy Johor surcharge

CARRIERS have started to impose surcharges on exports using Johor, to reduce the congestion at the port across the strait from Singapore, reports Malaysian Star.

Delays at the port have been increasing which has forced shipping companies to levy surcharges, said Johor Port Shipping and Forwarding Association secretary Michael Cheah.


Designed to handle between 750,000 and 800,000 TEU annually, the port has now reached a saturation point.


Mr Cheah said the association did not have any details on the surcharge rate, but estimated it would start from US$25 per TEU.


He did not believe the surcharge could reduce congestion at Johor Port, which has been seen for over a decade. He said inefficiency was the main cause, so the operator should seek ways to enhance efficiency at the terminal.


Johor Port can only handle less than 12 containers per hour, which was below 22 and 25 containers per hour at other local ports, he said.


"Manufacturers in Pasir Gudang industrial area [an industrial town nearby the Port] are the worst affected by the surcharge as they now have to fork out extra money to use the port," he added.


In response to the surcharge, manufacturers in Pasir Gudang have begun to shift the shipments to Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Gelang Patah about 80 kilometres away.


The MMC Corp, which controls both Johor Port and PTP proposed to Malaysian government to merge operations at the two ports, turning the former into a non-container port, while PTP focusing on boxes. But this idea has been rejected.