Save on logistics by utilising coastal shipping

Did you know Australia is the only country that is both a country and a continent?
While Australia may be small compared to the other six continents, it is the sixth largest country in the world by land mass. Vast distances between Australian states and cities make cross trading of goods both time-consuming and expensive. Due to its dry interior, most of Australia’s developed areas are on the coast. This makes coastal shipping an ideal option for transporting goods between states.

Good rail and road connections between the larger commercial centres leave the economical advantages of coastal shipping largely unexplored. However, when considering transporting dense items, containerised coastal shipping is a truly economical option. In fact, coastal shipping is virtually unbeatable when both the origin and destination are close to a container port.

“Bulk commodity producers and buyers depend mostly on coastal shipping. The trade is dominated by the cartage of cement, iron ore, steel, sugar cane, alumina and bauxite and fertiliser. The bauxite trade accounts for about 40 per cent of annual coastal shipping tonnages, with bauxite filling ships plying between Weipa and Gladstone, and then from Gladstone to Brisbane and Newcastle. For alumina, most of that moves from Fremantle and Bunbury to Portland and Geelong. Iron ore is transported by sea from the Pilbara to Port Kembla and Whyalla while raw sugar is carried from various Queensland ports to the refinery in Melbourne, and refined sugar from Mackay to Sydney,” writes Robyn Bromby of The Australian in November 2013.

Red Nav recently transported 18 tons of plastics from Dandenong to Fremantle at one third of the cost of the quoted road freight. If your business moves cargo between the different states of Australia, explore the cost advantages of coastal shipping before making the final decision. Contact Rebekah Garrett of Red Nav on 08 9303 2110 for more information.