IN Brief:
- Australian trade groups say war-related shipping surcharges are adding as much as A$5,700 per container.
- Forwarders are also warning about end-of-voyage charges and containers being discharged short of destination.
- The push for relief reflects rising cost exposure for importers and exporters already dealing with disrupted schedules.
Freight & Trade Alliance and the Australian Peak Shippers Association have intensified calls for government assistance as conflict-related shipping charges drive up import and export costs across Australian supply chains. The latest concerns centre on war-risk and deviation surcharges, along with contract disruptions that can leave cargo owners carrying costs that were not budgeted when shipments were booked.
Trade groups say the combined impact of emergency charges is reaching as much as A$5,700 per container. They have also raised concern about so-called end-of-voyage charges, where containers may be discharged at an alternative port if a carrier does not complete the original route, leaving importers or exporters to arrange onward movement and absorb fresh handling, storage, and transport costs.
The financial pressure is particularly acute for cargoes with tight timing or limited margin for delay. Exporters of meat, fresh produce, and other time-sensitive goods are dealing not only with higher base freight costs but also with uncertainty over transit times, destination integrity, and schedule reliability. Importers are facing the same problem in reverse as routing disruption feeds into inventory timing and landed cost calculations.
The request for relief shows how quickly maritime disruption can move from geopolitical risk into day-to-day cash exposure for shippers. Once surcharges, discharge uncertainty, and re-routing costs start stacking inside the same movement, the issue is no longer only freight rates — it becomes a working-capital problem for businesses that still need goods to move on time.
