Operations at the Port of Melbourne have become the nation’s most expensive, with charges to some truck and rail operators escalating by more than 2000 per cent in two years.

The rapid price hike has led the nation’s competition watchdog to warn that the state government may need to step in to protect consumers from escalating prices.

The Port of Melbourne. Credit:Photo: Craig Abraham

From January, the cost of shipping cargo to or from Melbourne will rise to $85 per container, if the city’s biggest stevedoring company, DP World, is the company lifting containers on and off ships.

In 2017, the firm charged just $3 per container, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.