Last week I had the pleasure of joining freight forwarders and NRC members at the annual Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation (CBAFF) conference in Christchurch. With exports and imports both up there was an upbeat mood in the room, and genuine optimism over the recent capacity announcements from the Ports of Lyttleton and Tauranga – a vote of confidence on our future growth.

Lyttelton Port Company has committed $821 million to a new deepwater wharf and container terminal at Te Awaparahi Bay, lifting capacity to around 850,000 containers a year. Port of Tauranga has won fast-track approval for its Stella Passage development, which will nearly double what our largest port can handle. And a fast-track application has been lodged for a shipyard and dry dock beside Northport at Marsden Point, able to service our ferries and naval vessels here at home.

These projects give us the room to grow our exports to the world, they are investments in New Zealand’s future prosperity.

At the conference I joined leaders from shipping, ports, rail and freight forwarding on a panel discussion about resilience and capacity. My message was simple. We have made genuine progress. The National Infrastructure Plan has cross-party backing. The Freight Advisory Council is up and running and has commissioned a National Freight Demand Study. Now we need some quick wins.

Here is the obvious one.

Every extra container that crosses the wharf at Sulphur Point or Te Awaparahi Bay leaves by truck or by train. Double the capacity at the wharf without lifting it at the gate, and you have not removed a bottleneck. You have moved it a few kilometres inland, onto Hewletts Road or through the Lyttelton tunnel.

The Freight Advisory Council is perfectly placed to drive aligned investment plans so road and rail links are upgraded in step with port capacity, as one system. To plan port, road, rail and maritime capacity together is not rocket science. But it will deliver significant supply chain efficiency.

Economist Tony Alexander told the conference New Zealand’s productivity has fallen 4 percent. Freight and supply chain is a $59 billion sector. Even a small gain there is a big win for the country.

Parliament’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee reported on its 15-month ports inquiry last week. It is right that ports must be treated as part of a national freight network, with rigorous business cases behind them. Its answer is a National Ports Strategy.

We don’t need another port strategy.

A ports strategy looks at the wharf and stops at the gate. We need a Freight and Supply Chain Strategy that plans the ship, the wharf, the road and the rail together. Australia has one, and we can steal with pride.

The ports have put their money down. Road and rail must now be planned to match. That is the quick win. Let’s take it.

Justin Tighe-Umbers, Chief Executive, National Road Carriers Assn