Two Minds Think Alike On Freight City for Penrose

When a few weeks ago I was summarising the suggestion put by Fonterra General Manager Supply Chain Strategy Nigel Jones, about the creation of a “Logistics City” at Southdown, something stirred in my memory.
Wasn’t this similar to an idea floated some years ago which I thought was quite far-sighted?
The tumblers in the mind started whirring, gradually some shape emerged and finally three lemons popped up. Back went the mind nearly six years to a New Zealand Freight Transport Summit at which trucking leader Simon Tapper presented his view of a solution to Auckland’s growing congestion.
Tapper called for a site at Penrose where all authorities with any say (local, regional and central government) should set aside land, appropriate transport corridors and other infrastructure to allow for the establishment of one or more inland intermodal terminals. Failure to do so would have disastrous consequences for both region and country, he said.
Let’s compare the two calls, made by Jones in 2009 and Tapper in 2004, to see how these two very different players in the logistics industry – one a major shipper and the other a wharf cartage contractor and inland port operator – came to broadly similar conclusions about the problems we face, and the solutions needed.
Jones defined a “logistics city” as a concentrated area linked to sea ports, airports, rail and road infrastructure. This would be in a designated area and offer scales of economy by aggregating then moving freight in large volumes.
It would be planned by both industry and government for the logistics industry, be backed by high-technology services and offer a complete range of logistics capabilities.
It would house freight forwarders, trucking companies, importers, Customs brokers, government agencies such as Customs and MAF, distributors and engineering and repair services among others.
It would not look at the needs of an individual customer but have an “industry wide” focus and be planned as such. In that respect it would be “port neutral”.
Southdown would be the base but it would extend well beyond the boundaries of the current railhead. Its footprint would encompass the Pikes Point area and possibly some reclaimed land. A dedicated private freight corridor would be formed along the estuary border to Onehunga Wharf for the movement of coastal feeder shipments by “land trains” (mainly Taranaki, Nelson and some other South Island cargoes, for which Onehunga is a closer link).
Now let’s move back to Tapper’s concept.
His idea was the creation of a major intermodal freight hub at Penrose. This would be a common-user facility, open to all comers on a commercial basis.
It would be served by containers probably railed en masse direct from the Axis Rail loop at the Ports of Auckland, and would act as the fulcrum for distribution to the major demand points of East Tamaki, Mangere, Otahuhu, Wiri and points south.
Penrose was chosen because it already has MetroPort operating there, juxtaposed to the Southdown Rail Terminal. Also, Penrose fits the bill because the volume of containers originating from Ports of Auckland is predominantly destined for areas immediately accessible from that area.
It has good access to motorways and roading arterial routes, excellent proximity to rail and empty container depots, and is distanced from residential areas (important when handling noise control issues).
Fundamental to his thinking was that there was a growing need to stage containers somewhere between the wharf and the consignee’s premises; with more containers moving at night to enhance truck productivity; an increased emphasis on moving containers by rail; and a greater need to move containers off the wharf to facilitate vessel turnaround.
The microport concept (Wiri, MetroPort etc) he supported, but felt importers and exporters in general had not flocked to the concept because it involves their wallets for the wharf-to-microport move or vice versa.
Therefore a long-term and broader solution was needed, and the only way he saw of catering for growth was the establishment of a major inland terminal. Hence his advocacy of Penrose as a common-user intermodal facility open to all.
While there are subtle differences in the Jones and Tapper proposals, one would have to same there are also large areas of common ground. It is not so much the detail that matters, as the broader thinking about a long-term logistics solution needed for the northern North Island.
It is remarkable that two different minds, independently and some years apart, came to the same conclusions.
Interestingly, I was discussing this with a friend and after emailing him the original article I did on Simon Tapper’s proposal his comment was: “Hit the nail on the head, didn't he? Big issue is still how to get around the question of having an industry voice. Even if many individuals are privately in favour, the company they work for may not always be aligned with the ideas.”
His comments ended up being prescient. Just last week I understand a container lines sub-committee was formed at Shipping NZ, which stands to become a new voice for that sector of the industry.
I will possibly return to that issue in the next week or so to discuss what they are aiming to do.
Returning to the Jones/Tapper proposals however, it strikes me that underpinning both sets of thoughts was the belief that there needed to be some backing, encouragement and support from local and central government, particularly in the designation of land uses and transportation corridors.
That, above all, is possibly the biggest change that needs to occur. Whether it comes from the new Infrastructure Unit, from the Minister of Transport, from the Ministry of Transport or whoever, there needs to be some forward momentum.
After all, there was debate but no follow-up from government after the first airing of this idea from Simon Tapper nearly six years ago. It would be rather sad, and somewhat amiss for the supply chain of this country, if in six years time both he and Nigel Jones had still failed to stir any response.

Footnotes: Maritime enthusiasts who follow this column will be interested to know of a couple of new shipping books with interest to NZ that have been published.
Stocks of “Sailing to Success – The Union Company Cadet Scheme” by Rae McGregor, and published by the New Zealand Ship and Marine Society on behalf of the Union Company Cadets’ Reunion Committee, have just been received from the Hong Kong printers and orders are being taken by the society.
The Union Company’s famous officer cadet training scheme began in 1952 and ran until 1986. During that time over 300 young men and women passed through the scheme. It was a time when New Zealand-flagged ships travelled the globe and when life at sea offered adventure and the ticket to a job for life.
Many former cadets are now masters or officers of today’s ships, others serve as harbourmasters or pilots or shipping company managers. The book is based on extensive interviews with former cadets, with over 100 photographs,
Recommended retail price is $60, or $50 to members. Orders can be placed with the Secretary, PO Box 5104, Wellington, with cheques made out to New Zealand Ship and Marine Society Inc.
The other maritime book of note is a wonderful little hardback called “Marseille Fret”, the story of Compagnie Maritime Marfret. It is unusual in that it uses comic-book picture format to depict the story of the line’s beginnings, from the point Claude Vidil left his bakery to get into shipping in 1951.
I am not sure if the book is on general release but is anyone is interested in a copy I will try to find out.

Dave MacIntyre can be contacted at d.macintyre@xtra.co.nz