Latest news with #TransportingNewZealand
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Port Of Auckland Fee Increases Cause Concern For Industry
Press Release – Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand National road freight association Transporting New Zealand is voicing strong concerns over the Port of Auckland's (POAL) announced increases to Vehicle Booking System (VBS) fees, warning these price hikes at the country's largest import port will have major repercussions for businesses and consumers. Trucks have been charged $130 per visit in access fees to the container terminal during peak hours since January 2025. This will increase to $180 in January 2026, $230 by July 2026 and $350 by January 2027. These fees are levied each time a truck accesses the terminal to deliver or collect a container. Billy Clemens, Head of Policy & Advocacy at Transporting New Zealand, is questioning the justification for these large increases, noting that POAL's productivity improvements have been minimal. 'Our road freight members and their customers haven't seen an associated increase in Port productivity,' he says. 'In fact, from financial year 2023 to 2024 POAL's average truck turnaround time improved by only 1.5 per cent, or 17 seconds. I don't know of any road freight companies who could hike their prices by 170 per cent over two years following that level of performance.' Clemens also challenges POAL's rationale that higher peak-time fees will incentivise off-peak deliveries. ' Traffic data confirms that our members already do their best to avoid peak traffic because it's a nightmare in Auckland as it is. If they could, they would.' 'A survey by one of our major North Island members revealed that only 12 per cent of their customers could accept night-time deliveries of containers.' Transporting New Zealand is warning that these increased costs will inevitably be passed on to consumers and exporters, making New Zealand goods less competitive on the international stage. All at a time when the Port is already comfortably surpassing its profit targets. Productive alternatives Clemens urges POAL and its owner, Auckland Council, to focus on enhancing productivity and performance rather than imposing higher fees on industry stakeholders. 'One practical option we've previously raised with POAL is to lower VBS charges for dual bookings, where a freighter both drops off and picks up containers on the same trip.' 'If POAL wants to improve productivity, it should also look to its 2024 Annual Report. POAL was comfortably meeting its peak vs off-peak truck target, but failing on crane rate, ship rate, and import dwell time, amongst others.' Cargo owners share concern at price increases Mike Knowles, chair of the New Zealand Cargo Owners Council, says the time-of-use approach is too simplistic to achieve significant behaviour change as the port is just one part of a complex supply chain. The Cargo Owners Council believes it is time for benchmarking of NZ port productivity against their charge structures. 'We think the time is long overdue for a closer look at arbitrary fee increases that do not result in measurable service or infrastructure improvement – as things stand the ultimate loser here is NZ Inc.' About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is the peak national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Our members operate urban, rural and inter- regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country. Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Port Of Auckland Fee Increases Cause Concern For Industry
National road freight association Transporting New Zealand is voicing strong concerns over the Port of Auckland's (POAL) announced increases to Vehicle Booking System (VBS) fees, warning these price hikes at the country's largest import port will have major repercussions for businesses and consumers. Trucks have been charged $130 per visit in access fees to the container terminal during peak hours since January 2025. This will increase to $180 in January 2026, $230 by July 2026 and $350 by January 2027. These fees are levied each time a truck accesses the terminal to deliver or collect a container. Billy Clemens, Head of Policy & Advocacy at Transporting New Zealand, is questioning the justification for these large increases, noting that POAL's productivity improvements have been minimal. "Our road freight members and their customers haven't seen an associated increase in Port productivity," he says. "In fact, from financial year 2023 to 2024 POAL's average truck turnaround time improved by only 1.5 per cent, or 17 seconds. I don't know of any road freight companies who could hike their prices by 170 per cent over two years following that level of performance." Clemens also challenges POAL's rationale that higher peak-time fees will incentivise off-peak deliveries. " Traffic data confirms that our members already do their best to avoid peak traffic because it's a nightmare in Auckland as it is. If they could, they would." "A survey by one of our major North Island members revealed that only 12 per cent of their customers could accept night-time deliveries of containers." Transporting New Zealand is warning that these increased costs will inevitably be passed on to consumers and exporters, making New Zealand goods less competitive on the international stage. All at a time when the Port is already comfortably surpassing its profit targets. Productive alternatives Clemens urges POAL and its owner, Auckland Council, to focus on enhancing productivity and performance rather than imposing higher fees on industry stakeholders. "One practical option we've previously raised with POAL is to lower VBS charges for dual bookings, where a freighter both drops off and picks up containers on the same trip." "If POAL wants to improve productivity, it should also look to its 2024 Annual Report. POAL was comfortably meeting its peak vs off-peak truck target, but failing on crane rate, ship rate, and import dwell time, amongst others." Cargo owners share concern at price increases Mike Knowles, chair of the New Zealand Cargo Owners Council, says the time-of-use approach is too simplistic to achieve significant behaviour change as the port is just one part of a complex supply chain. The Cargo Owners Council believes it is time for benchmarking of NZ port productivity against their charge structures. "We think the time is long overdue for a closer look at arbitrary fee increases that do not result in measurable service or infrastructure improvement - as things stand the ultimate loser here is NZ Inc." About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is the peak national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Our members operate urban, rural and inter- regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country. Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion.
Scoop
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Scoop
Poor Roads And Ferry Delays A Major Risk To Safety And The Economy
Press Release – Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand The 2025 National Road Freight Industry Survey of nearly 200 road freight businesses was conducted in March this year by Research NZ on behalf of advocacy group Transporting New Zealand. The survey was also supported by the New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association … The road freight industry is warning the poor state of New Zealand's roads are having a serious impact on the safety of road users. And there are major concerns delays over replacements for the Interislander Cook Strait ferries could have a big negative flow-on effect for the economy. Billy Clemens, the Policy and Advocacy Head at Transporting New Zealand, says the vast majority (93 per cent) of respondents in the 2025 National Road Freight Industry Survey agreed poor road maintenance is putting truck drivers and other road users at risk. As well, a significant number (84 per cent), believed that regional roads and bridges are neglected, and that delays in replacing the Cook Strait ferries pose a major risk (79 per cent). (The survey was done before the announcement that the Aratere is to be retired in August.) The 2025 National Road Freight Industry Survey of nearly 200 road freight businesses was conducted in March this year by Research NZ on behalf of advocacy group Transporting New Zealand. The survey was also supported by the New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association and Groundspread NZ. It represents the most extensive industry snapshot in over a decade. 'The survey painted a gloomy financial picture for business – only 34 per cent of those surveyed expected their financial situation to improve over the next 12 months, and only one in four respondents reported having sustainable operating margins,' Clemens says. Health, safety and wellbeing are big concerns for the industry, with 78 per cent of respondents calling for more purpose-designed rest stops for drivers, and 72 per cent saying it was important for drivers to have a good work-life balance. About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is the peak national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Our members operate urban, rural and inter- regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country. Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion.
Scoop
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Scoop
Poor Roads And Ferry Delays A Major Risk To Safety And The Economy
The road freight industry is warning the poor state of New Zealand's roads are having a serious impact on the safety of road users. And there are major concerns delays over replacements for the Interislander Cook Strait ferries could have a big negative flow-on effect for the economy. Billy Clemens, the Policy and Advocacy Head at Transporting New Zealand, says the vast majority (93 per cent) of respondents in the 2025 National Road Freight Industry Survey agreed poor road maintenance is putting truck drivers and other road users at risk. As well, a significant number (84 per cent), believed that regional roads and bridges are neglected, and that delays in replacing the Cook Strait ferries pose a major risk (79 per cent). (The survey was done before the announcement that the Aratere is to be retired in August.) The 2025 National Road Freight Industry Survey of nearly 200 road freight businesses was conducted in March this year by Research NZ on behalf of advocacy group Transporting New Zealand. The survey was also supported by the New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association and Groundspread NZ. It represents the most extensive industry snapshot in over a decade. "The survey painted a gloomy financial picture for business - only 34 per cent of those surveyed expected their financial situation to improve over the next 12 months, and only one in four respondents reported having sustainable operating margins," Clemens says. Health, safety and wellbeing are big concerns for the industry, with 78 per cent of respondents calling for more purpose-designed rest stops for drivers, and 72 per cent saying it was important for drivers to have a good work-life balance. About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is the peak national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Our members operate urban, rural and inter- regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country. Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Government Can't Take Its Foot Of The Gas Pedal On Transport Infrastructure
Road transport advocacy group Transporting New Zealand has welcomed boosts for road repair and investment incentives in today's budget - but says the Government has missed the opportunity to accelerate the Roads of National and Regional Significance, along with other growth-orientated infrastructure investments. The Government has announced a $464 million capital and $141 million operating budget for rail maintenance to increase the reliability for commuters and freight in the Auckland and Wellington metro areas, and to replace ageing bridges, culverts and other assets. The Government also announced $219 million in additional operating funding to complete recovery works on local roads that were damaged in the 2023 North Island weather events. Transporting New Zealand Chief Executive Dom Kalasih says this roading boost will be reassuring to their freight operator members in the affected areas. "We're pleased to see $219 million to fund local road repair following Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods. This will provide important certainty for the East Coast and Hawke's Bay." Transporting New Zealand has also welcomed Investment Boost, a new tax incentive which enables businesses to immediately deduct 20 per cent of the cost of a new asset, on top of depreciation. However, Kalasih said the devil would be in the details. Transporting New Zealand is more cautious about the boost in rail spending, saying the Government will have to carefully monitor spending to ensure value for money. "Rail freight plays an important supplementary role in transporting non-time sensitive cargo - 5.6 per cent of the freight task by tonnage compared to 92.8 per cent for road freight. New Zealand needs a resilient multi-modal transport system." "However, as noted in the Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024 - rail freight volumes steadily declined in the past six years, despite receiving almost $2.5 billion in Crown funding. The Government must hold KiwiRail to account on delivering a return on this additional investment if they want to turn things around." Transporting New Zealand says it would have liked to see additional capital funding to support the infrastructure pipeline, avoiding further cuts and delays. "Just this week we've seen NZTA announce downgrades to the design of the Ōtaki to north of Levin new (tolled) highway that will impact safety and efficiency, reflecting cost pressures," says Kalasih. "If the Government wants to deliver a more productive, safe and efficient network of State Highways and local roads, it needs to be prioritising additional funding and revenue for growth-orientated projects like the Roads of National and Regional Significance." About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is the peak national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Our members operate urban, rural and inter- regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country. Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion.
