Our August round up of the truck shows and trucking events coming up

Transport Minister Chris Bishop recently announced Cabinet has agreed to a series of legislative changes to enable the transition of New Zealand’s 3.5 million light vehicles to paying for our roading network through electronic road user charges, rather than petrol tax.

“The abolition of petrol tax, and the move towards all vehicles (whether they be petrol, diesel, electric or hybrid) paying for roads based on distance and weight, is the biggest change to how we fund our roading network in 50 years,” Bishop says.

As we all know, trucks are big, heavy and take up a more room that light vehicles on the highway . Being around them can challege even the best light vehicle drivers as they are are often less familiar with large vehicles and this can lead to serious unintended consequences. To help combat this deficiancy of kowledge around trucks, the NZ Trucking Association is introducing a new initiative called the “Don’t Muck with a Truck”, a road safety programme (free educational resource) designed to help create safer roads for everyone.

Mainstream New Zealand have signed an agreement to acquire the transport, containers, and logistics operations of PBT, a highly respected freight operator who has been a staple of the freight market for over 50 years.

At the recent EROAD Fleet Day National Road Carriers (NRC) announced it has teamed up with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) to help tackle one of the biggest challenges facing the freight sector – the shift to low and zero emissions heavy vehicles through the use of NRC’s widely used and recently revamped Cost Model tool.

Scott Holt has recently been appointed General Manager for Motor Truck Distributors Ltd (MTD), New Zealand distributor for Volvo Trucks and Bus. Scott is an accomplished General Manager with a successful track record in the transport and marine sectors spanning 17 years.

UD Truck Distributors NZ Ltd (UD Trucks) announces that a new Condor range of medium duty trucks will be available in New Zealand from early 2026. The new Condor range is a major step forward in the medium duty sector for UD featuring advanced safety features, a powerful yet efficient new drive line and a class leading cab layout.

A major step forward in heavy vehicle safety and professionalism has arrived with the official launch of TruckSafe New Zealand, a Safety Management System (SMS) designed to lift standards across the entire transport and logistics sector.

Auckland Council-owned Port of Auckland has surprised the freight industry by announcing today that port access charges for road transport operators in 2026 will be increased by 77%. The Port’s previously announced 35% increase for 2026 charges has already been baked in by port customers and transport operators, so a doubling in that planned increase has been a bitter pill to swallow. 

Dennis Brown started in business when the company he was working for was sold and with no offer of a job, Dennis took matters into his own hands and purchased a R Model Mack tipper and three-axle trailer.

Matamata horticultural suppliers, Daltons is family-owned manufacturing operation recognised throughout New Zealand for their Quality Assurance Programme, outstanding customer service and utilisation of natural and renewable resources.

Andy Smith Livestock Ltd has a long history of rural cartage around the Waikato. The firm recently adds a new DAF to the fleet.

Well respected operators, Raymond “Razor” and Kristy Bradshaw, R & K Bradshaw Logging Ltd, have taken delivery of a new Kenworth K220 to replace an earlier model K200.

Peter Coulson and sons Brendon and Stevie form the backbone of Coastal Digger Services Ltd. Read more about their new Kenworth here.

For the past 15 years Wayne and wife Janine have grown their Kenworthy Transport Services fleet as a major contractor to refrigerated transport business Cooltranz in the South Island.