Dwell Time for Import Transit Containers at Dar es Salaam Port: An Analysis of the Role of Free Storage time

Alli, Idrisa (2015) Dwell Time for Import Transit Containers at Dar es Salaam Port: An Analysis of the Role of Free Storage time. Masters thesis, The Open University Of Tanzania.

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Abstract

Dwell time is the principal indicator of the Port’s efficiency. Dwell time can be broken into three components: operational dwell time, transactional dwell time and discretionary dwell time. All customs and terminal inefficiencies are absorbed in the first two components above. The aim of this study was to determine delivery patterns and find evidence of discretionary behaviours by the importers taking advantage of the long free storage time offered for transit containers. The study was conducted by extracting terminal handling data for import containers for the first quarter of 2014 from Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) terminal and linking this data with clearance data from Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) for the same container records so as to study the trends. Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the strength and direction of relationship between the two variables and was found to be equal to 0.725 which shows strong positive correlation. The findings from the analysis suggest that the actual time required to complete customs and terminal procedures is very minimal and that the majority of the deliveries tend to happen in the last days of the expiry of free storage. The general impression from study findings is that delivery of containers is dictated by free time given at the Dar es Salaam Port; subsequently influencing average dwell time of the containers. The study recommends reduction of free time from 14 days to 7 days or less to meet a target of 5 days by 2015 and introduction of punitive demurrage fees to discourage importers from leaving their containers at the port despite finishing clearance processes. Lastly, findings like these should be made available to importers to justify new measures to be taken.

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