26 May 2023

Mainfreight says supply constraints should ease with plenty of capacity now

8:03 am on 26 May 2023
Mainfreight truck at a depot

Mainfreight managing director Don Braid says there is plenty of transport capacity now. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Global transport firm Mainfreight says there is plenty of air and sea freight capacity available to get goods moving again, despite some industries reporting ongoing supply constraints.

Mainfreight said its second-half financial result was one of the strongest ever, but well down on its first-half performance, following a swift drop in international sea and air freight rates and volumes

Managing director Don Braid said there was plenty of transport capacity, which should no longer be a constraint for local businesses, who recently raised concerns about ongoing supply chain issues.

"It may well be that they're referring to manufacturers not being up to speed, particularly in China after they've come out of Covid lockdown, or that they are still struggling with certain amount of parts or something for their products, and that impacts the overall supply chain," Braid said.

"But from a transit point of view and a space point of view, we can provide them with plenty of that and I'd welcome them giving me a call if they've got problems."

He said some of Mainfreight's customers were still working through the high inventory loads carried through the pandemic period.

"I think across most of the regions that we operate in, we've still got customers with excess stock in warehouses, and going through a destocking process as they work their way through to normalise supply chains."

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