WEST PERTH, AUSTRALIA — The CBH freight rates for the 2015-16 harvest have been revised down from the October estimate, with road and rail rates to be reduced by an average of 2.5%, the company said on Feb. 9.

David Capper, CBH Group general manager operations, said the reduction from the estimate is a great result for growers.

Factors contributing to the reduction include falling fuel prices, the certainty of a 12-month rail agreement and less use of surge transport during harvest.

“This outcome is a credit to the Freight Fund team and the Zone, Area and Terminal managers for executing the harvest receivals to achieve this result,” said Capper.

At CBH road sites, freight rates have been reduced by 3.25% from the October estimate and rail site freight rates have been reduced by 2.25%.

Road to rail sites have also decreased by 2.75%.

“The Esperance Terminal Area, which includes Chadwick, Brazier St and Shark Lake will have a reduction of A$0.41 (28¢) a tonne,” said Capper. “This is equates to a saving of around 27% across those sites and mainly due to strong harvest shipping resulting in more grain being delivered directly to the terminal.”

“The Geraldton Terminal including West End and Moonyoonooka will receive a 6% reduction in their rates,” Capper said. “In our October estimate we forecast a small decrease in many road freight rates, which when combined with the 3.25% reduction just announced, results in a total rate reduction of 4% on last year’s road freight rates.”

“This reduction is something that CBH and our road haulage partners have worked hard on,” he said. “We will continue to look for innovative ways to improve the efficiency of our logistics chain and continue to pass savings on to growers.”