Employers Urge for Truck Service Standard

Employers Urge for Truck Service Standard

JAKARTA – Indonesian Truck Employer Association (Aptrindo) urged port terminal operator to make turn-around time (TRT) standard for container trucks.

Aptrindo Deputy Chairman, Muis Thantawi, said currently, there is no truck service standard time in all ports including in four main ports such as Tanjung Priok Port (Jakarta), Tanjung Perak Port (Surabaya), Belawan Port (Medan), and Makassar Port.

The condition is worsened by all port facilities which do not provide truck parking lot integrated with commodity and container stevedoring information system at port. “Port operator or container operator at port must implement TRT standard. They have to determine the time needed to serve trucking at port,” he told Bisnis on Wednesday (1/7).

He said TRT standard at port enable trucking operators to have time certainty in running their business.

So far, Muis continued, the government has underestimated trucking operator’s role as the main supporter of commodity and container delivery activities at port. The phenomenon can be seen from low government’s attention in supporting truck revitalization programs.

He added berth infrastructure development activity is boosted by disbursing excessive investment. However, Muis asserted land development including the addition of road infrastructure and vehicle revitalization is less supported.

Slow vehicle revitalization, he said, is caused by high domestic banking interest rate in loan disbursement for port transportation business of averagely more than 12% per year.

Moreover, truck revitalization is still imposed with import duty, value-added tax (PPN), income tax (PPh), and name change duty. “Therefore, we expected for fiscal policy from the government to lower tax and import duty so truck revitalization can run optimally,” he explained. (Bisnis Indonesia)