Trucking’s vital contribution to the economy

By Nick Leggett, CEO, Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

Truck drivers moving freight around the South Island and to and from the rest of New Zealand made a huge contribution to New Zealand surviving 2021 – which was a year we don’t want to repeat in a hurry.

In addition to navigating year two of Covid-19, complete with more lockdowns, the South Island experienced some wild winter weather that took out roads and bridges, always a challenge for an already stretched supply chain. Road freight transport is a big part of New Zealand’s supply chain, moving 93 percent of goods around the country, including the valuable exports to ports to be sent off to markets around the world, and distributing all the imported goods we need. Globally, the movement of goods from country to country has been stretched during the Covid-19 pandemic. Outbreaks of the virus have restricted manufacturing, distribution, and port activities around the world. As a small, far away market at the bottom of the world, New Zealand doesn’t have much might when it comes to the global supply chain. Ships have bypassed us to service bigger, more lucrative markets and we expect the shortage of imported goods to be enduring through 2022. While much of the rest of the world has opened up for people and trade, New Zealand hasn’t and so we just have to wear that other countries that are easier to do business with will be in line ahead of us. In New Zealand, Covid-19 has put a lot of important projects on hold, or delayed completion of them, including roading and infrastructure projects. Transporting New Zealand worries about how long it will take to get these back on track with workforce shortages, a shifting list of priorities, and some massive bills in the wake of Covid-19 to be reconciled. Winter added more stress to the roads and in early June, the South Island became an island of two halves, as flooding caused the Ashburton Bridge on State Highway 1 to be closed after motorists reported they could feel it slumping underneath them. There was no alternate route south as all the other roads were also closed with flooding. It is pretty major when the main highway of New Zealand isn’t functioning. It was estimated about 21,000 vehicles went over the bridge on week days and about 30,000 a day on the weekends. It went from fully closed, to being open some of the time and closed for repairs at others to get back to full function fairly quickly, but it was another example of how susceptible to natural disasters our infrastructure is – something Cantabrians are well aware of. The trucking industry is always pretty determined to get the goods through, no matter what happens and some truck drivers with essential goods opted for a 13-hour diversion to head south of Ashburton, going via Lewis Pass and down through the West Coast. We are a resilient industry and trucking operators take their customer commitments builds that boost our economy, also rely heavily on trucks. The geography of New Zealand is partially responsible for the heavy reliance on trucks to move goods as all communities in New Zealand are connected by road. Customers also want personalised, door-to-door service with goods delivered on time and at the best cost. Given its indispensable role keeping the New Zealand economy moving, and the huge freight task it carries out, the commercial road freight fleet is a small proportion, less than four percent, of the total number of vehicles on the road. According to the Te Manatū Waka - Ministry of Transport there are about 4.4 million licenced vehicles in New Zealand. Of these, about 150,000 are heavy vehicles, but that includes buses and motor homes. About 30,000 trucks are used for commercial freight, and almost all of those involved in long distance trips will also tow heavy trailers. Like many industries in New Zealand, truck driving faces a worker shortage, and an ageing workforce. To combat this, Transporting New Zealand launched a traineeship programme in April 2021, Te ara ki tua Road to success. We work with trainees and the employers who take them on to ensure a career path, with training and rewards. Like most other New Zealanders, we are hoping 2022 will bring a more settled business operating environment with open borders, a freeing up of the supply chain, better roads and infrastructure projects underway, and a sense of moving on from Covid-19. You can be sure whatever happens, trucks will be on the road with dedicated drivers making sure you get everything you need, when you need it.

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Retailer for tyres and batteries. very seriously. We have certainly seen this through the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the start of the pandemic and with the first lockdown, Transporting New Zealand worked quickly to establish truck drivers as essential workers. We found the Government didn’t have a full understanding of how the supply chain works and how finely tuned it is. While trucks are allowed to deliver the goods no matter what, it puts stress on drivers and operators. Lockdowns are lonely on the roads and we found with councils closing toilet facilities, motels closed, and food outlets closed, basic health and safety and security became issues we had to turn our minds to. But essential medical supplies, food, livestock, fuel and all manner of other vital goods need to be moved around every day. Pretty much everything you need every day spends some time on the back of a truck. For this reason, trucking makes a significant contribution to the New Zealand economy. The road freight transport industry employs 32,868 people (about 2.0 percent of the workforce) and has a gross annual turnover of $6 billion. Road freight is the only away New Zealand’s primary producers can get their products off the land and into processing, supermarkets, and export markets. As well, almost all manufacturing requires trucks to transport in raw materials and to transport out the finished goods. Housing and construction, as well as major infrastructure

About Transporting New Zealand

In Aotearoa New Zealand, 93 percent of the goods you rely on every day are transported around the country on the backs of trucks. We are transporting New Zealand. As the national voice for the road freight transport industry, Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand, advocates to ensure trucking businesses can grow and prosper, and continue to drive the New Zealand economy.