People advised to shop in store to help logistics industry

Retail and trucking advocates say Omicron isolation rules and a shift to online shopping has hit the supply chain hard.

Retail NZ’s Aimee Hines told Breakfast people who can shop in-person instead of online should do so to help the logistics industry to stay moving.

“There are people who can go in-store who should go in-store,” she said.

“A lot of people are reverting to delivery because they’re thinking that’s the safer option. What we should do is shop in-store if you can if you are not isolating. It can take the pressure off some parts of the supply chain, around deliveries.”

She said the Government had made it clear it was safe for people to shop in-store while at the Red traffic light level.

On Thursday, New Zealand Couriers told its Auckland customers that they should only send critical items as it worked to clear bottlenecks in its delivery network.

Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting NZ’s Nick Leggett said that their member organisations were reporting major disruption as the virus became prevalent across the country.

Leggett said staffing issues for truck drivers were currently concentrated in Auckland.

He said many freight operators were looking at between 10 and 20 per cent absenteeism.

“We have actually called for relief drivers to put their hands up across the country, those people who have got heavy vehicle licences that could lend a hand at this time.”

He said ports and freight centres in Tāmaki Makaurau were stressed.

“It is really a case of being patient and recognising that those critical goods, the food and medical supplies, the things that keep us nourished in times of stress - it is really important that those get through.”

Both Hines and Leggett also agreed that isolation rules were having a big effect on supply chains.

Leggett said the existing 10-day isolation period was a “real killer” and called on the Government to reduce periods of isolation for contacts.

“If you look at the lessons that the supply chain can learn from the United States and from Australia, that isolation period down to five days real quick, because they realised that stuff was not going to be delivered, unless the truck drivers could get back on the road if they were healthy.”