NZTD News

Since KiwiRail announced the retirement of the Aratere last week, I’ve heard from many frustrated members. They’re concerned about reduced capacity across the Cook Strait, rising freight costs, and the disruption this will cause to their businesses.

This frustration is completely justified. In June last year, the Government-appointed Ministerial Advisory Group recommended procuring two rail-compatible vessels, to be delivered by December 2027. Instead, the country will now wait until 2029 for rail-enabled ves...

Without doubt one of the most enjoyable parts of running National Road Carriers is meeting our members. I’m privileged to meet all types of people up and down the country, across all the transport sectors. Each business is unique. 

One of the first questions I ask is – how’s business, and are you starting to see any green shoots of recovering customer demand? 

The answers are as broad as our member base, but this year a consistent theme is noticeable. The green shoots are slow in coming. 

The...

National road freight association Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is partnering with Teletrac Navman to produce a detailed snapshot of the road transport sector. The report will be released at Transporting New Zealand’s South Island Road Freight Seminar in Christchurch on 28 June.

One of the early findings is that truck drivers on the West Coast of the South Island do well in comparison to the rest of New Zealand.

“The latest Census data shows that the West Coast has the best-paid truck drivers in the co...

Port of Tauranga Limited (NZX:POT), Zespri and Tauranga Kiwifruit Logistics (TKL) have signed a five-year partnership to grow cargo volumes through the Port. 

Kiwifruit exports are expected to increase more than 2% a year through to 2029 as the size of Zespri’s annual harvest continues to expand.

Port of Tauranga Chief Executive, Leonard Sampson, says the partnership puts the kiwifruit export industry in the perfect position for growth. “The agreement solidifies our shared interest in the success of the sect...

The fallout from last week’s heavy rain in Mid Canterbury could land in the vicinity of $150,000. Around 150mm of rain fell in the district over two days causing surface flooding issues at the end of last week.

On the local roads, Ashburton District Council infrastructure and open spaces general manager Neil McCann said the early estimate to repair the damage is $100,000-$150,000.

“The roading team and our maintenance contractor HEB photographed about 350 locations and there was extensive surface flooding.

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New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) will roll out its first mobile safety camera next week – the next step in the transition of safety camera operations from NZ Police to NZTA.

As part of the change, for the first time in New Zealand speeding vehicles will be detected by cameras operating in cars (SUVs), alongside the vans which NZ Police have traditionally used. Later this year NZTA will also add trailers to the fleet of safety camera vehicles.

A camera-equipped Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) will be p...