Freight in the Waikato

Waikato has only ten per cent of New Zealand’s population yet twenty per cent of the nation’s freight passes through the region. Industry within our region produces and processes heavy bulk goods which are transported to the two busiest ports in the country. The region lies within the so-called ‘golden triangle’ including Auckland and Tauranga and is experiencing strong population growth and land use change.

Freight is a significant input and output of our economic activity and the freight transport task is ever-increasing. The New Zealand economy is energy and freight intensive and we are subject to the challenges of distance from our overseas market place.

We are facing global warming, emissions trading, congestion, the end of cheap oil, and a desired strategy to be carbon neutral and sustainable. Fifty-two per cent of our primary energy is imported oil. Excluding agriculture, national transport amounts to forty five per cent of total energy emissions making it more than double the next biggest energy emission sector, being electricity generation.

Having purchased Kiwi Rail, the government wants to see a modal shift from road to rail and coastal shipping. Two government transport agencies have been merged and the NZ Transport Strategy has been developed to steer transport in the right direction.

Billions of dollars are spent on transport and infrastructure every year and we all need to understand how the sector works and what it means to our business and the economy. Transport investment is critical to the success of our region.

The Waikato Transport Summit was held on 15 October 2008. The summit raised strategic issues in transport and logistics and provide insights for industry and business. The summit provided the opportunity for national and regional transport and logistics organisations to outline current initiatives to identify and plan for strategic regional and inter-regional transport corridors and is of value to Waikato business leaders for whom transport and logistics are a key part of their business.

You can download summit presentations in pdf format below (presentations will be added as they become available).