Call for restrictions to loosen
Transport company Freightways’ management has seen a massive drop in volumes since the lockdown began and believes a greater flow of goods is needed to keep the system working.
Freightways chief executive Mark Troughear said yesterday that his company had seen volumes drop 65 per cent in the previous four days.
As an essential service, the company wanted to retain all its workers. So it was carrying on with spare capacity, he said.
‘‘At the moment I’ve got courier vans going out that don’t have a whole lot of freight in them . . . What we’d like to see is someone to come and see what’s involved and just how much risk are you putting people at. I think the reality is not many more people would be exposed and out operating if you allowed a greater flow of goods through that network.’’
The drop in courier volumes was a concern for cashflow, but Troughear said the company was in an unusual position because it was also needed.
He echoed calls from the Road Transport Forum, which is concerned that stopping nonessential freight is creating a backlog of goods at the ports.
So far the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is sticking to its policy of restricting the sale of goods to those that are deemed strictly necessary.
Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett said yesterday that the Government still had not fully understood the complexities of the freight system. ‘‘You take one link out, and the whole chain starts grinding to a halt,’’ he said.
‘‘Our trucking operators are seeing that. The burden is on them to keep essential supplies moving, but because of rules set on the fly, they may not be able to and may go out of business.’’
At the moment, he said, ships were unable to get ‘‘nonessentials’’ such as logs out of New Zealand, meaning they could reassess calling here. ‘‘All freight needs to be free to move.’’