Concern as cost of container haulage soars over gridlock, bad roads
The dilapidated state of roads leading to Apapa and Tin-Can Island Seaports has pushed up the cost of container haulage from the port terminals to the importers’ warehouses in Lagos.
Here, the cost of moving cleared consignments to importers’ warehouses, and also moving export goods to the ports, have more than doubled in the last few months, thereby, putting pressure on the operational cost of importers and other shippers.
The new haulage rate came with significant cost implication on importers such that the cost of cargo movement from the seaports in Lagos to any warehouse within and outside Lagos has more than doubled depending on destination.
In 2017, a truck load of general cargo from ports to any warehouse within Lagos State ranges from N80, 000 to N150, 000; N60, 000 to N140, 000 for one by 20-foot container; N100, 000 to N170, 000 for two by 20-foot container, and N80, 000 to N140, 000 for one by 40-foot container.
Also, lifting cleared cargo from ports in Lagos to other states varies by the distance of the destination state. For instance, a Kaduna based importer who used to pay about N300, 000 to move container to Kaduna, would be required to pay N480, 000 to move one by 20-foot container from Lagos to Kaduna and N500, 000 for one by 40-foot container; taking containers of similar sizes to Nnewi in Anambra State cost N330, 000 and N350, 000 respectively while going to nearby Ife in Osun State ranges from NN180, 000 to N200, 000.
Presently, the cost of hauling containers from the Apapa ports to warehouses in Lagos has increased to an alarming N700, 000 per container compared to months back while outside Lagos has increased as well.
Jude Okeke, a Lagos based importer and president, Association of Progressive Traders (APT), said that the prices of goods will continue to soar if the cost of transporting containers continue to rise.
Abdullahi Mohammed, vice chairman, Dry Cargo Section of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), told newsmen in Lagos that the hike was being driven by the law of demand and supply as there were many containers to be evacuated from the ports while available trucks were few.
According to him, the recent withdrawal of service by truck drivers resulted to a good number of containers being trapped at the ports, thus, the growing demand for trucks to move the laden containers from the ports to importers’ warehouses.
“Now, if about five people are looking for trucks and suddenly one truck comes, it is not even the truck driver that determines the price, it is those agents who are struggling to see that they evacuate their consignments from the ports. For instance, if one volunteer to pay N100, 000, the other, N120, 000, and another may increase it to N150, 000.
“Truck owners and drivers did not come together to say let us hike the price. It is simply being controlled by the law of demand and supply. Out of the trucks you see on the roads; 80 percent of them are carrying empty containers or export containers. When you count one to 50 trucks, hardly will you see empty flatbed trucks except the ones that are trapped on the gridlock.
He said that people want to take their consignments out of the ports to avoid payment of demurrage but trucks are not available. “Again, when a truck loads and goes out, to come back becomes a problem because it takes days due to the traffic situation. The truck owners are losing compare to when truck can go on average of four to five trips a week. Now, in a month, if you are lucky, you may be able to go for two trips or one.
He however said that if the shipping companies can make use of holding-bays that the traffic situation will reduce, and in turn, cost will definitely come down.
Isiaka Olalere, chairman, Tin-Can Island Chapel of the Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), blamed the rising cost of haulage on bad port access roads and lack of holding-bays by the shipping companies to receive empty containers, which he said, forced trucks to litter the roads and bridges around Apapa.
“Even with the price increase, truck owners are still losing because the number of days we are using on one trip when traffic around the port was in good condition is not the same number of days we use for the same destination now. After discharging at your destination, it will take you another 10 days for you to bring the empty container back to the port because of gridlock,” he said.
He further suggested that to solve the problem of access roads to the ports, which was the main reason for the increased cost of transportation, that the Federal Government needs to create a space where all the empty containers can be dropped and ferried to the ports.
Uzoamaka Anagor-Ewuzie