One number for what the landside actually costs
One defensible number for how landside costs are tracking: a weighted basket of terminal access charges and import detention at Australian container ports, re-priced each quarter from the publishers' own schedules. Every component value is human-verified and carries the document it came from. Cite it anywhere, free, with attribution.
BASE Q4 2025 = 100
What we've actually watched move
Every figure below is a charge where we hold the publisher's schedule from before and after the change. Nothing here is modelled or inferred. The Index itself waits for a full basket; these are the movements the register can already prove.
Every movement behind these averages (12)
| Publisher | Charge | Port | From | To | Change | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port of Tauranga | VBS booking fee | Tauranga | $11.90 | $19.66 | +65.2% | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Lyttelton Port | VBS booking fee | Lyttelton | $65.00 | $95.00 | +46.2% | 6 Jul 2026 |
| DP World | Terminal access | Sydney | $197.47 | $225.51 | +14.2% | 1 Jan 2026 |
| Hutchison Ports | VBS booking fee | Brisbane | $49.50 | $54.50 | +10.1% | 20 Apr 2026 |
| Hutchison Ports | Terminal ancillary | Brisbane | $50.00 | $55.00 | +10% | 20 Apr 2026 |
| Hutchison Ports | Terminal access | Brisbane | $213.78 | $232.79 | +8.9% | 20 Apr 2026 |
| Hutchison Ports | Terminal ancillary | Brisbane | $185.00 | $200.00 | +8.1% | 20 Apr 2026 |
| Hutchison Ports | Terminal ancillary | Brisbane | $83.00 | $89.00 | +7.2% | 20 Apr 2026 |
| Hutchison Ports | Terminal access (export) | Brisbane | $196.58 | $210.48 | +7.1% | 20 Apr 2026 |
| Australian Amalgamated Terminals | VBS booking fee | Brisbane | $46.31 | $48.63 | +5% | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Australian Amalgamated Terminals | Terminal access (export) | Brisbane | $136.55 | $143.38 | +5% | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Australian Amalgamated Terminals | Terminal access | Brisbane | $191.89 | $201.48 | +5% | 1 Jul 2026 |
CITING THE INDEX
- Who it's for
- Rate-variation letters, board papers, budget submissions, industry commentary, journalism. Anywhere "landside costs are outrunning everything else" needs a number behind it.
- How to cite
- "Wharfa Landside Index, Q2 2026" with a link to this page. The Index is free to reproduce with attribution; the underlying component data remains subject to our terms.
- Cadence
- Published quarterly, within two weeks of quarter end, with the full component table and any weighting changes disclosed in the release note.
- Media & analysts
- Pre-release access and methodology questions: [email protected]. We answer in writing, on the record.
Methodology, briefly
Component values are drawn from publisher schedules captured and human-verified by the Wharfa pipeline. The Index is a fixed basket: the charge series live at the base quarter are re-priced each quarter, so sources onboarded later do not move the Index until a rebase is published and disclosed. Weights are terminal access charges (56.25%) and import detention Tier 1 (43.75%).
Empty container park fees are excluded from this methodology version. They were weighted at 20% in the original design, but we do not yet hold directly sourced park schedules, so the remaining weights are renormalised and the exclusion is stated rather than carried as a zero. The base is the inaugural quarter, not a back-cast: every point in the series is computed from values we captured at the time.
PRESS KIT
- Quarterly release
- Each quarter Wharfa publishes the Index value, the year-on-year move and the full component table, with any weighting changes disclosed. Journalists and analysts can request the drafted release note ahead of publication.
- Charts & the number
- Each quarter's plate is free to reproduce with attribution to "Wharfa Landside Index" and the quarter shown. The underlying component data remains subject to our terms.
- Pre-release & questions
- Media and analyst enquiries, on the record and in writing: [email protected].