Source: Radio New Zealand
Freight was being disrupted due to the conflict in Iran. (File photo) Bryan Crump
A freight company is warning New Zealand faces sharply higher freight prices, rising living costs, and months‑long delivery delays as the impact of the Iran conflict spreads through global supply chains.
Rocket Freight said local road transport carriers had already increased fuel charges by more than 30 percent.
Director Lisa Coleman said the escalating costs would hit consumers across the board.
“It’s everywhere, it’s affecting everyone, and it will come down to the last dollar for every single person in New Zealand,” she said.
“Every product that arrives on shelves will be affected.”
Coleman said air freight was also squeezed.
Air and sea freight was being squeezed. (File photo) Luis Boza / NurPhoto via AFP
Dubai-based Emirates – the largest air freight operator in the country – had halted operations, and remaining carriers had immediately added war and fuel surcharges, she said.
With only two main air freight providers still serving New Zealand, and a number of airlines yet to return after the pandemic, Coleman said competition was limited and prices had jumped, particularly for outsized cargo.
While she said some increases were understandable, “a lot of it looks like a marketing ploy and a money grab”.
Seaborne freight also disrupted
Ocean freight faced similar pressures.
Coleman said international shipping lines had introduced a “war risk surcharge” of up to 50 percent on marine transit policies.
Many vessels were avoiding the Middle East entirely, re-routing around southern Africa – adding up to 40 days to transit times and significantly increasing fuel costs.
The closure of Dubai – a critical global hub – had thrown container schedules into disarray, leaving vessels out of position and disrupting logistics chains.
Explosions from the interception of an Iranian projectile are seen in the sky over Dubai. (File photo) AFP / Giuseppe Cacace
“All the trade routing we would normally use is changing. It’s all fluctuating – nobody knows when cargo is going to get here,” Coleman said.
Some shipping lines also invoked force majeure, the contractual mechanism that freed them from delivery obligations during events such as war, natural disasters, or government action.
In several cases, Coleman said cargo had been offloaded at the nearest safe port.
“Then you have to negotiate to get that container picked up from wherever it ended up, put on a different ship, and get it over here.”
Force majeure events were not covered by insurance, because they were treated as acts of war.
The only stable spot, for now, was freight to Australia and China – though Coleman expected prices on those routes to rise as fuel costs continued to climb.
Delays, fuel concerns, and the risk of rationing
Coleman said US-bound freight was already chaotic under the existing tariff environment, but she was increasingly worried about New Zealand’s ability to draw down fuel reserves at an affordable cost if the crisis intensified.
“The supply is obviously going to be our biggest worry. This country will absolutely stop if we have to start fuel‑rationing,” she said.
Coleman said rising transport costs would ripple through every part of the supply chain.
“It comes down to that loaf of bread – it’s going to increase dramatically just because of transport costs.”
Consumers and businesses should expect higher prices and significant delays, she said, warning major household goods not currently in stock could now take months to arrive.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
