Rio Tinto Marine

The Rio Tinto Marine business model has changed significantly since its inception in 1996.  Originally it was largely Australasian centric and concentrated on aggregating demand within relatively simple contract structures.  For several years its volume remained at about 17 million tonnes per annum reflecting its regional focus and the long established freight base of the regional Rio Tinto companies.  Beginning in 2000, Rio Tinto Marine implemented a more proactive approach to business development.  It focused on helping its customers to improve margins through creative logistics and delivering the service throughout the Rio Tinto Group.

The repositioning of Rio Tinto Marine within Rio Tinto has now been completed and the results have been very positive.  In 2006, Rio Tinto Marine moved about 70 million tonnes per annum worldwide spanning a broad range of commodities including iron ore, coal, industrial minerals, bauxite, aluminium, concentrates and metal.  These were carried in a mixture of ship sizes ranging from Capes down to Containers.

In the next few years Rio Tinto Marine's business will continue to expand, based on a number of initiatives that are already in place.  Volumes are expected to rise to 85 million tonnes in 2007 and by 2008 the annual volume should reach over 100 million tonnes per annum with associated increase in the option value of the freight portfolio and earnings.  In parallel with this growth Rio Tinto Marine will continue to optimise its scope and scale network for the benefit of its customers. 

Collaboration with Rio Tinto

Successful freight management is dependent on close cooperation with the sales functions of the many Rio Tinto business units worldwide.  Rio Tinto Marine achieves this through a hub and spoke structure.  Account Managers have been appointed for all the major businesses and are embedded in their organisations.  The key accountability of the Account Manager is to understand the customer's business fully and to help it to improve both volume and margin through delivered sales.  By understanding the business model of all its customers, Rio Tinto Marine is able to craft freight outcomes that add value for both customers and end users.