Following direct discussions between Container Transport Alliance Australia and Victoria International Container Terminal, CTAA welcomes changes to the export container slot booking process at VICT.
From Tuesday, 19 May 2020, VICT will remove the requirement for a valid Pre-Receival Advice (PRA) to be lodged with Terminal through 1-Stop before an export container vehicle booking slot can be obtained.
This aligns VICT with the other container stevedores in the Port of Melbourne, and allows transport operators be plan ahead for better truck combination utilisation and efficiencies.
In many container export supply chains, the PRA is completed relatively late in the logistics process, when the container has been loaded and its Verified Gross Mass (VGM) obtained.
Not being able to secure an export booking slot until the PRA was finalised and lodged was a growing source of concern to exporters and their transport providers as container volumes have increased through VICT at Webb Dock.
Now, exporters and their transport logistics providers will be able to better plan ahead, increasing the opportunity for truck utilisation rates to be maximised, and the certainly of being able to secure export slot bookings before vessel cut-off dates.
CTAA continues to discuss other vehicle booking system changes for import containers which are still a cause for concern.