TRANSPORTtalk of 28 February reported that KiwiRail experienced a 2% to 3% drop in freight volume for the six months ending 31 March 2024. Whether this volume was moved onto road or just disappeared is unclear. However, the summary of the six-monthly reports in the same publication from the Port of Tauranga, Port of Auckland and South Port all indicate increasing freight volume – perhaps the freight moved by road has increased after all.

‘Improving productivity’ has certainly become one of the often-mentioned objectives across the country; from the halls of power down, these are the catchwords of many conversations and presentations. I do not have a problem with the principle of this, the country needs to do better if we are to remain competitive with the rest of the world. The problem I have regarding our industry is what do we mean and how will we measure it?

As with key performance indicators, if you cannot measure them, they are merely nice-to-haves and virtually meaningless in the real world. I have read comments by some industry stalwarts that increasing vehicle weights and length would be a step in the right direction. They could be right, but those around in the early 2010s may recall that the idea of increasing productivity and fewer trucks on the road reducing congestion arose when we introduced high- productivity motor vehicles (HPMVs), or lower-bound vehicles as they were known back then.

Certainly, the proliferation of HPMVs is visible for all to see, but did they improve industry productivity while reducing congestion as envisaged? Where is the data to support this? I suggest that it would be hard to convince the governing powers that the industry should be allowed to go down this track again when there is no hard data to prove it worked the first time. Australia is grappling with similar issues, too. On 25 February, ATN (Australasian Transport News) reported that by 2040, road freight demand in the major eastern cities would jump by 40%, outstripping population growth, which is expected to be 28%.

IT WON’T BE a nice feeling if you are a top manager in the public service right now. Recent events demonstrate the sword is swinging at the top level and if you are in one of these positions, you must be wondering if you are next. The unanswered question is whether these top people who have now vacated their positions resigned, as in ‘I have had enough and am out of here’ or were resigned, as in ‘Your position is no longer tenable, I think you should look for employment elsewhere.’

The sword is swinging. Let’s hope it is not a sign that politics now outweigh competency when selecting top government officials.

Bums on seats

In the March 2025 issue, I mentioned a proposal sent out for ‘consultation’ by NZTA to provide a class exemption for drivers holding a full class 1 driver licence to drive electric trucks with a GLW of up to 7500kg. This proposal went ahead with the only significant change being to increase the exemption period from two years to three. The exemption notice can be found on the NZTA website.

The benefits claimed by this move include increased efficiency and flexibility in operations, cost savings due to staff not needing to obtain a class 2 licence, and the benefits of having a low-emissions fleet. It will be interesting to see if these benefits materialise as intended.