Traffic headaches are continuing around Australia’s busiest container terminal, with construction at DP World’s West Swanson Terminal in Melbourne creating extreme congestion, according to the Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA).

The CTAA says DP World has been undertaking construction works to reconfigure the landside truck grids within its West Swanston terminal, removing about 35% of landside capacity.

Coupled with these landside constraints, the terminal has a very heavy program of vessel arrivals.

Truck turnaround times have blown out on some shifts to more than four hours, meaning that transport operators miss vehicle time slots and can’t complete planned freight tasks.

The CTAA says DP World has informed transport operators that the volume for cargo  would exceed the road capacity on multiple shifts over the coming King’s Birthday long weekend in Victoria.

In a circular to members, CTAA director Neil Chambers urged freight forwarders, importers and exporters to speak to their container transport providers about the impacts of the extreme delays.

“Charges for futile truck trips, truck waiting time at the wharf, weekend surcharge rates and additional lifts via transport yards are commercial matters between transport operators and their customers,” Chambers said. 

Earlier this year the CTAA warned that roadworks around the Port of Melbourne was adding AUD45 to each twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU).