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Dublin Port hikes freight rates

[ September 22, 2021   //   ]

Dublin Port Company (DPC) is to increase its goods dues on empty containers and trailers from the current 26% to 100% of the laden unit rate in 2022 and 2023 as part of its new pricing strategy, starting in April next year.

The port argues that empty units require the same port infrastructure investment as laden ones and that the increased charges are needed to pay for its ongoing capital investment programme.

Capital expenditure of €386 million is planned over the five years from 2022 to 2026 as part of an overall investment programme of €1.6 billion over the 30 year period of Masterplan 2040 by which stage Dublin Port will have reached its ultimate capacity.

There will a single increase of 12.5% on goods dues for unitised goods in 2024 but no further increases in 2025 and 2026.

Goods dues for trade vehicles (primarily imported new cars), bulk liquid commodities (primarily petroleum products) and bulk solid commodities will increase by not less than 2.5% in each year from 2022 to 2026.

Tonnage dues for all categories of ships except for cruise ships will increase by no more than 2.5% in each year from 2022 to 2026.

Dublin Port says it will be the first time in more than a decade that increases in port infrastructure charges will apply across its business and that there have been no increases in port infrastructure charges in the first ten years of Masterplan (2012-2021), save in a limited number of cases where increases were low. More recently, DPC postponed a planned increase in 2020 owing to the exceptional trading environment created by Covid-19.

Port infrastructure charges for the largest part of DPC’s business – unitised goods (trailers and containers) – are lower now than they were when DPC was corporatised in 1996, it adds.

Because port infrastructure charges are so low by comparison to the value of goods, they are not expected to have any perceptible impact on consumer prices.

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