NZTD News

According to James Smith, GM Policy and Advocacy, National Road Carriers Association, the latest Pulse of NZ Business survey from Forsyth Barr paints a picture that many in the road freight sector will recognise. Confidence has lifted materially, demand is improving, and importantly, the recovery is broadening across the economy. This survey is just one of a number of positive indicators that the much-anticipated recovery is actually underway.

For transport operators, that matters. Freight is not a lagging indicator. I...

Port Marlborough and StraitNZ Bluebridge have confirmed their long-term partnership this week through a new 39-year commercial agreement that secures the future of StraitNZ’s Cook Strait ferry services through Waitohi Picton to 2064. The agreement provides long-term certainty for StraitNZ’s operations in Picton and enables further coordinated planning for both businesses to support freight and passenger services across Cook Strait over the next four decades. 

Port Marlborough Chief Executive Rhys Welbourn said the...

I haven’t done any substantive analysis, but after reading a number of very recent stories from overseas, particularly from the US and Australia, it appears there is a groundswell of increasing concern about the pressure on trucking businesses and the risks this presents to their financial viability. 

Australian parliamentarian Michael McCormack recently gave a speech about the “Trucking Industry Grinding to a Halt.” 

Another story described the pressures on the industry this way: 

.. Read More  

Around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways are now being fixed within 24 hours of being identified each month, showing the Government’s drive to fix the basics on New Zealand’s roads is paying off, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.

“Lifting productivity to help rebuild our economy and build New Zealand’s future remains a major focus for this Government, and accelerating pothole repairs and preventative work is essential to maintaining a safe, reliable state highway network that underpins that growth.  .. Read More  

Resurfacing of State Highway 6/Fitzherbert Street/Ruatapu Road through the heart of Hokitika from this weekend may mean some disruption for road users and residents over the week that follows.

Scheduled to happen from 6pm to 6am daily, from Sunday 15 February to Saturday 21 February, the work will take place on SH6/Fitzherbert Street/Ruatapu Road from the north side of Richards Drive through to the Hokitika River Bridge. It will mean delays for road users on SH6 of up to 20 minutes while bitumen is being sprayed. Howev...

According to Transporting New Zealand - While plans are afoot in NZ to introduce universal RUC for all vehicles, Iceland has become the first country to do so, implementing universal RUC on 1 January 2026. The country announced its intention to move to universal RUC just 5 years ago.

What’s more, it’s a manual-based RUC system with no telematics, instead vehicle owners being billed monthly based on odometer readings lodged via an app or website, or estimates based on previous readings or the average mileage by vehicle ...