Storms ahead for supply chains so NZ needs to plan

The impact of Covid-19 on New Zealand’s supply chain has been widely discussed. But the unprecedented rainfall in Auckland and elsewhere in the country shows that extreme weather events can disrupt vulnerable supply chains. And, as climate-induced disruptions are set to increase, we need to take a hard look at the strength and integration of New Zealand’s plan.

As the weather rolled in on January 27, our heavy weather health and safety protocols kicked off, and by and large Ports of Auckland operated throughout the wild weather.

But many of my peers running other parts of New Zealand’s intricate supply chain from port to rail or road, to warehouses and then final mile transport, weren’t so lucky.

Supply chains are basically a series of potential bottlenecks. It’s no good to have one part operating at full steam when other parts are jammed.

How we move goods into, around and out of the country is the difference between supermarket shelves being consistently stocked versus empty shelves, and our goods being sold overseas at pace versus cash-throttled exporters.

This most recent storm has again shown us our points of vulnerability are the road and rail lines. You just need to see the photos of derailed trains, flooded and jammed highways, and slips closing state highways and city motorways to see our points of weakness.

Add to that the increasing delays we’re seeing for ongoing repairs to regional roads and you understand why there’s a long tail to road disruptions after storms.

This is why it’s so important to have short ‘‘road bridges’’ across the country. The longer the distance goods need to travel from ports to their destination (or vice versa) the more opportunity for bottlenecks.

This recent deluge puts New Zealand’s freight and supply chain strategy firmly into focus. Te Manatu¯ Waka, the Ministry of Transport is working on this and looking at how to create a low emission, resilient, productive, innovative, equitable, and safe national supply chain.

We need a longterm strategy that ties together our roading, rail and port infrastructure into a national plan. There’s no point one piece of the puzzle trying to make decisions without the bigger picture.

Part of that bigger picture is also how our supply chains impact the environment.

Another benefit of short road bridges is reduced emissions. Landing goods at one part of the country, only to truck the majority elsewhere just adds emissions and risks delays.

Having a port in Auckland is the best option for a resilient low-carbon supply chain, serving the country’s biggest city. This was the findings of the Government-commissioned Sapere report in 2020.

We need people to be taking on the bigger picture decisions and we need to consider how the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

If we don’t have this vision, the ripple effects of ever-increasing and intensifying climate-related supply chain disruptions will spread through our economy.

They will lead to price increases and disruptions, and shortages of goods will become the norm.

And, let’s be clear, alongside a bold vision we are going to need national determination and diligent planning that translates into action to make necessary, fundamental changes for the long term.

Much has been discussed about moving the Ports of Auckland and I personally think the shape of the port will drastically change over time. It needs to if it’s going to meet needs 50 years from now while also delivering more waterfront access to a growing population. But I can’t see it happening in the short term.

This storm has highlighted the importance of the work the Ministry of Transport is doing to understand if new approaches to cooperation, regulation and investment are required to meet the challenges we face.

So, although many of us are focused on returning our national supply chain to our preCovid days in stages, we also need to position the system for the future – a future filled with more severe weather events, more frequently.

We need a longterm strategy that ties together our roading, rail and port infrastructure into a national plan. There’s no point one piece of the puzzle trying to make decisions without the bigger picture.