National Road Carriers Association is, despite our name suggesting otherwise, an association of supply chain participants representing all modes.
 
While over 90% of the membership are road transport operators with vans and trucks, we also have two that operate trains, three that operate ships and two that operate aircraft. Add to this one that operates freight cycles, and we can say with confidence that we represent all possible ways to shift freight in New Zealand.
 
We also have as members a majority of all the freight network operators, many of whom are truly multi modal and have international connections.
 
It’s important to have this complete picture of the supply chain when talking with officials and the public. Too many still see the supply chain through a single lens that excludes other options.
It is not, for example, road versus rail but rather road and rail, ships or planes depending on what needs to move to where and when.
 
The reality is the freight task requires all modes to be present and for all modes to operate efficiently for the supply chain to function.
 
As the economy returns to growth and New Zealand looks to increase productivity we will be working hard to ensure all modes have the right policy settings to help support the growing economy.
 
Understanding how the different modes interact with each other helps us to understand the impact of policy or other supply chain changes.
 
Using rail to clear containers from a port makes sense as ships get larger and city roads become more congested. However, this does not remove the need for road, as freight still needs to get delivered to the end user. What changes is where the truck enters the supply chain. 
 
The best example of this is the Port of Tauranga inland port at Southdown. Containers arrive and depart from Tauranga by rail but are picked up and delivered by road in Auckland.
 
Some other commodities are always better on rail. Moving thousands of tonnes of coal per day from the west coast to Lyttelton for example. Other deliveries might be better by air, such as same day courier parcels or Bluff Oysters. Road is the only logical choice for same day supermarket replenishment, livestock and other time-sensitive freight.
 
What National Road Carriers will always oppose is wasteful spending or artificial incentives to influence modal change, as both of these have a negative impact on productivity.

Justin Tighe-Umbers, CEO, National Road Carriers Assn