Pinnacle Corporation and MetroBox Specialised managing director Grant Tregurtha has spoken in defence of the booking systems introduced by Auckland container storage depots, stating recent congestion issues would have been even worse without their contribution.
His comments follow National Road Carriers (NRC) port committee chairperson Chris Carr’s recent criticism that the systems have imposed both costs and “logistical juggling” on transport operators while not delivering such promised benefits as reduced turnaround times.
“Turnaround times have reduced in Auckland, albeit not to the levels that we had anticipated,” counters Mr Tregurtha.
“A 24% increase in empty volumes last year through the Auckland container parks created congestion within all operational aspects of the depots, especially with gate co-ordination.
“Without the gate booking system the gate waiting times would have manifested into significant permanent delays that would have been measured in hours rather than minutes, so we see the booking system as a valuable tool in assisting the successful processing of volume at the gate.”
Mr Tregurtha says the booking systems provide key “visibility”.
“Pre system we were totally reactive to the request which was first notified to us when the truck arrived at the gate.”
He adds that the problematic issues at play need to be tackled on a collaborative basis.
“I firmly believe the difficulties the industry is facing will only be solved if we all recognise that it is an industry issue and work collectively and not as a direct result of failings with individual components of the process.”