‘Very disappointing’: Ministry of Transport shelves key freight study update, cites fiscal constraints

The Ministry of Transport published the Aotearoa New Zealand Freight and Supply Chain Strategy in 2023 and committed to a second action plan in 2024 that never happened. (Image: NZME)

Oliver Lewis

Mon, 07 Jul 2025

The Ministry of Transport has dropped plans to renew a critical freight study that was last updated several years ago, despite calls from the sector for better data.The Aotearoa New Zealand Freight and Supply Chain Strategy, published by the ministry in 2023, makes frequent reference to data from the 2017/18 National Freight Demand Study (NFDS), which was previously undertaken in 2014 and 2008.The strategy, described by former Transport Minister David Parker as a blueprint and a launch pad for further work, included a recommendation to identify...

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