Benchmark of logistics transit inspection costs in North Western European seaports and airports

The client has asked for an investigation into the level of logistics transit and inspection costs for the import of selected fresh products from outside the European Union through various North Western European seaports and airports. These port logistics transit and inspection costs include the average logistics costs of transportation by sea/air, handling in the port area and final delivery to the customer in the Netherlands or Germany; the costs for the legal required supervision and inspection activities by national authorities for the selected fresh produce import supply chains.

The objective of this study was to gain a fact-based overview of the average port logistics transit and inspection costs in selected supply chains of various sectors benchmarking three ports (Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg) and five airports (Amsterdam Schiphol, Brussels, Liege, Frankfurt, Paris). The focus of the study was on the calculation of the costs of air or sea transport, the costs of transshipment and other logistics activities in the (air) ports, the tariffs for inspection and supervision in the (air) ports, and the costs of onward distribution transport from the (air-)ports to the destination in the hinterland. Next to the costs, also the service level of handling in different ports was taken into account in this quick scan. To achieve this, the opening and closing times for inspection and supervision activities in different countries were compared.

BCI worked in four consecutive steps:

• The average port logistics transit and inspection costs elements for the selected import shipments were mapped
• The actual average port logistics transit and inspection costs for the selected import supply chains were calculated
• The legally required inspection and supervision activities per supply chain were determined, based on which percentage of the shipments underwent one of the three options for inspection and supervision
• Finally, the total costs and service level for all port logistics transit and inspection activities via all Northwestern European seaports and airports under review were compared for the eight selected import supply chains

The main findings of the research study can be summarized in five conclusions:

• The total logistics transit and inspection costs for the eight import shipments through Northwest European seaports and airports are in practice quite comparable and close to each other
• The Dutch seaports and airports have for 6 of the 8 selected supply chains the highest average tariffs for the legally required inspection and supervision activities
• The percentage of the tariffs of inspection and supervision activities as part of the total port logistics transit and inspection costs for the eight import shipments in the Netherlands is higher for import by sea than import by air
• The average tariffs of laboratory tests in the Netherlands are for all import supply chains higher than for similar laboratory tests in the other countries surveyed
• The standard availability of the Dutch authorities to carry out veterinary and phytosanitary inspections is comparable to or larger than in neighboring countries

The public report with English Management Summary at pages 177-180 can be downloaded here.