Listen
Shipping companies are charging more to get goods into and around the country due to delays at the log-jammed Ports of Auckland.
With Christmas season here, our biggest port is under pressure with container ships waiting almost two weeks at anchor to get a slot to unload. The delays are impacted by world-wide covid related freight disruptions, recent strikes at Australian ports and staff shortages at Ports of Auckland meaning there aren't enough stevedores to unload goods.
The backlog is further hampered by an incomplete automation project due to Covid.
Now all shipping companies are slapping a surcharge on cargo to make up for rising costs due to the delays.
Kathryn speaks with My Therese Blank, Head of Market at Maersk Oceania and local shipping broker Dave Anderson, of Coastal Shipping.