The level of service and efficiency of Israel's ports is low compared to previous years, and compared to similar ports around the world – and this has implications for the cost of living. This is according to the State Comptroller's report on the cost of living, the preparation of which was completed before the outbreak of the "Iron Swords" war. The strengthening of the Houthi threat, which makes maritime trade even more difficult, only increases the importance of efficient port management.
The comptroller found that the service levels and operational efficiency of Israel's ports are lower than in previous years and compared to similar and comparable ports in other countries.
State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The Comptroller's audit shows that according to estimates, the annual damage caused by the damage to exports as a result of port congestion in 2021 in terms of GDP was about NIS 5.1 billion. The damage from imports of consumer goods is estimated at NIS 3.8 billion (an addition of 0.1 percent to inflation).
The core of the audit, which dealt with the four main service indices examined at Ashdod Port, Haifa Port, and Shipyards Port, found that there was a deterioration in the average waiting time of a ship, the average length of stay of a ship, the average output per hour worked, and the percentage of response to demand for work crews in 2018-2022 compared to 2017. The result of the poor operation in receiving and unloading goods at the ports has led to an increase in transportation costs, which are eventually passed on to consumers, and is reflected in an increase in the cost of living.
One place before the last
According to the comptroller's report, Ashdod Port is ranked 13th out of 14 compared to comparable ports in the world when measuring the length of stay of container ships. Although in 2022 there has been an improvement in waiting and delay times, they are still tens of percent higher than in 2017.
During the inspection period, about 80 ships waited at Israeli ports during the peak months – May 2021 and May 2022. The median stay time at Israeli ports for handful of cargo ships in 2021 was 2.7 days on average – the longest waiting time among the ten countries examined.
The audit's findings revealed that the queue of ships waiting outside Ashdod Port was affected not only by the COVID-19 crisis, but also by structural operational problems, including, inter alia, low efficiency of cargo handling and unavailability of specialized equipment at Ashdod Port, which are among the factors that impaired the efficiency of cargo handling work.
Poor placement of operations employees
Output per hour worked at Ashdod Port, mainly in general cargo and handfuls (bulk grain unloading), declined compared to 2017. The efficiency problem of Ashdod Port is also reflected in the responsiveness of work teams ("working hands").
Ashdod Port employees. Poor placement in the operations system (archive), photo: Liron Moldovan
Between 2017 and 2022, there was a 70% decrease in crews' responsiveness to work in the field of handful accumulators at the port. In containers and general cargo, there was a decline of 24% and 60% respectively in the same years. It was also found that for various reasons, between 13.8% and 22% of operating workers, who could have reduced the operational queue, were not assigned to unloading and loading work.
Containers stuck at Ashdod Port (Archive),
In 2021, grain imports to Israel amounted to about 5.6 million tons. Seeds are an essential commodity for public nutrition, and a shortage of them can cause a shortage of flour and flour products such as bread, rice and pasta and a shortage of animal food products, such as milk and dairy products, eggs and meat.
84.9% of the imported grain is unloaded in the Haifa Port area, but only 15.1% is unloaded in Ashdod Port, although the demand for grain is divided between the north and the south at rates of 55% and 45%, respectively. This is due to poor service in this area at Ashdod Port, delays in operating the grain conveyor, and according to the Ashdod Port Company, a shortage of truck drivers.
The audit revealed that in practice, the volume of grain unloading at Ashdod Port is inconsistent with the distribution of demand between northern and southern Israel. It was also found that the grain conveyor belt at Ashdod Port was delivered for operation to Ashdod Port in January 2023, deviating by about nine months from the original schedule. The conveyor belt was built 12 years after the decision of the ministers of finance and transportation in October 2010, with a deviation of about NIS 12 million from the construction budget set at NIS 225 million.
Ashdod Port said in response: "The comparison to the other ports does not meet objective rules of comparison. This represents a cut of only 8% of cargo when strategic cargo, such as containers and vehicles, did not wait at all, and these account for 85% of the port's activity, while in Western countries these cargo suffered from waits of up to a month. It is important to note that the report relating to the 2021/22 data was received last night and the company will study it and appoint a team to improve performance."
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