October 31, 2021

Logistics Australia - Podcast Overview

Peter O'Brien is Crane Worldwide's Managing Director of South Pacific and Indonesia. Peter has been with Crane Worldwide Logistics since the very beginning when Crane opened its doors in Australia, almost 13 years ago. 

Peter is passionate about the logistics industry and his infectious energy, putting the client first at all times, makes a huge impact on our operations in the South Pacific. He is a widely respected member of the team globally and an expert in the Australasian marketplace.   

Peter recently took part in our 'Coffee with Crane' podcast series sharing his insight and experience with regards to the current state of Australia's imports and exports and how our solutions have grown to support and solve clients' challenges.

Below is an exert from the podcast interview discussing our logistics services in Australia.

What are the types of industries that are most prevalent in Australia? 

Australia is a very rich country in resources, so mining and the energy markets are very strong industries for us in Australia but also with the weather that we have here the agricultural industry is very strong and we are seeing rapid development in the solar energy markets now as well. Our top exports include iron ore, coal mining, and natural gas, the oil and gas industry is very large for us. In the agricultural sector, meat processing is a big sector due to the cattle market and we also export significant exports of grain.

What countries trade the most with Australia? 

From an export perspective, Australia exports to China, Japan, Korea, India, and the United States; those countries are our main trading partners. With regards to Australian imports we have strong ties with China, the United States, Japan, Germany, and Thailand, we definitely import more than we export. 

What countries do the South Pacific and Indonesia region cover at Crane Worldwide Logistics? 

This region covers Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia, we also get involved with East Timor, for example, right now we have an offshore rig that is operating in East Timor waters that we support. We also get involved in the Pacific Islands as well, they are challenging locations and COVID-19 hasn't made it any easier but we do get involved in all those areas. In Australia, we have offices in Perth, Melbourne, two warehouses in Brisbane as well as an office and a warehouse in Adelaide. We also have supply bases in other locations supporting offshore rigs such as in Melbourne Port, Darwin, Karratha, and Broome, we are currently looking after four offshore rigs out of these locations. 

We also manage EPC projects and are involved with a major solar company and we manage some industrial business out of our 3PL locations in Australia. 

What would you say is the biggest strength of Crane Worldwide Logistics in the South Pacific and Indonesia region?

It's certainly our people that are our greatest strength, they are very hardworking and focused professionals. From a business sense, we are very strong in the energy and mining industry, we touch on the medical and pharma industry also. Crane Australia also has 3PL facilities in Melbourne and two in Brisbane serving the solar industry distributing solar products all over Australia. We are looking to expand into satellite locations with some of our energy clients also. 

What are the main challenges in Australia right now? 

Naturally, COVID has impacted both space and rates into and out of the country right now. It has made it very difficult in serving new business and existing business as it has for all 3PL providers. Borders internally have also been closed internally within Australia so it has been difficult to travel from city to city. We are hoping that in 2022 we will see more normality. 

Crane Worldwide Logistics Australia is still providing excellent service and we are looking at developing our 3PL service offering as well as our domestic trucking capability across Australia in the near future. We work together with our global locations at Crane Worldwide to support our clients all over the world. I have never worked with a team that works so hard to find solutions and our people really do make a difference. Our technology solutions are very advanced and allow our clients to really drill down into the details, Crane Worldwide is here to support our global and domestic clients in Australia now and in the future. 

Crane Worldwide Logistics Australia

Throughout Australia, with offices and warehouse facilities located in Perth, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne, Adelaide and Karratha, our supply chain team are strategically located to assist our clients with all of their logistics needs.

We focus on supply chain solutions in every Australian state that will bring cost benefits through an efficient logistics operation supported by our Global Locations around the world with cargo expertise. Our experienced freight forwarders and logistics experts in Australia work in partnership with our clients offering tailor-made solutions including International Air Freight, Ocean Freight, Warehousing. Our expertise in Project Cargo is available to support your project cargo, and shipments. Learn more here. 

You can watch the full episode here: