New survey results show strong concern across the road freight industry about delays to New Zealand’s Cook Strait ferry replacement programme, with many warning it poses a major risk to the country’s economy.
The 2025 National Road Freight Survey, released last week, found 79 per cent of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the delay in replacing the inter-island ferries represents a significant threat to both the road freight sector and the wider economy.
The survey was conducted by Research New Zealand on behalf of national road freight association Transporting New Zealand, and was open to company owners, managers, drivers and staff nationwide. A total of 196 participants took part before the survey closed at midday on Monday, March 31.
The results came on the same day the Government announced plans to deliver two new rail-enabled Interislander ferries by 2029.
Transporting New Zealand advocacy and policy lead Billy Clemens says the findings reinforce the industry’s longstanding concerns and highlight the need for urgent action from the Government.
“We recently met with Minister Peters, the Minister for Rail, and reiterated our position that competition must be maintained across the Cook Strait connection, there must be capacity for the forecast growth in the domestic freight task, and maintaining the frequency of services must be a priority.”
He says the survey results reflect the consistent message being delivered by the industry.
“The results of the National Road Freight Survey confirm what we’ve been hearing consistently from our members and industry sector groups – the Cook Strait connection is a real priority for the road freight industry.”
Clemens says the significance of the link between the North and South Islands cannot be overstated.
“Approximately $30 billion in freight crosses the Strait each year, so it is essential to have a safe and resilient connection between the islands. This is particularly vital for carriers who carry livestock and other time-sensitive freight. It’s also particularly important to the Mainland, with most freight travelling south.”
He also referenced a 2024 recommendation from the Ministerial Advisory Group on Future Ferry Services, which called for a new shipbuilding contract to be signed no later than October 1, 2024.
“Back in June 2024, the Ministerial Advisory Group on Future Ferry Services on the Cook Strait recommended that a contract for new ships be signed by 1 October 2024 at the latest, noting this would mitigate the risk that ‘potentially advantageous options could be taken up by other operators and lost to the Crown while KiwiRail works to settle the HMD [iReX] claim’.”
“The road freight industry needs to see some real progress being made on procurement.”
