NZTD News

The March 2026 issue of New Zealand Truck & Driver – on sale this week – showcases the highest horsepower new truck to ever feature on the magazine cover and as the subject of the Giti Tyres Big Test.

Our Big Test team spent a day with the new Self Loader Logging Volvo FH16 780 to get a taste of Volvo’s new 17-litre flagship engine and the latest refinements to the FH range. The truck is doing a mix of 58t on-highway and 68t off-highway log cartage in the Taupo and central plateau region.

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Michelin has announced a proactive recall of specific heavy‑vehicle tyres after identifying a potential manufacturing issue that could lead to a rapid loss of air pressure. The recall affects Michelin X Multi Z and X Line Energy Z tyres in size 355/50R22.5 with a 156K load/speed index.

According to Michelin, the issue involves the possible development of a circumferential crack in the sidewall near the bar code field. While no instances of pressure loss have been reported, the company has opted for a precautionary reca...

Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has welcomed the release of the National Infrastructure Plan and tabled it in Parliament.

“New Zealand’s future prosperity depends on high quality infrastructure. It is central to our quality of life and to the Government’s “Going for Growth” agenda,” Mr Bishop says. “Delivering and maintaining better infrastructure is a key part of the Government’s plan to fix the basics and build the future New Zealanders both need and deserve.

“Creating a 30-year plan for New Zealand’s infr...

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: 

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