New Zealand stretches 1,600 kilometers (1200 miles) north-south, and it's nearest neighbour - Australia - is 3 hours' by airliner or 3 days by ship.
A country of similar size to the United Kingdom, Japan or Italy, it supports a small population of 4 million (78% urbanised), with one million in Auckland (the main commercial centre) and the capital, Wellington, home to 325,000. The South Island's main commercial city is Christchurch with a population close to a quarter of a million. Other major cities are Hamilton and Dunedin.
The economy is heavily dependant on primary exports (dairy, agriculture, beef, lamb, fish, forestry) for production-based foreign earnings.
A large tourism industry is based around the country's natural beauty, but New Zealand has little natural mineral wealth. There is therefore a heavy reliance on imports, both for consumer products and for raw materials used in light manufacturing.
Main Ports & Airports
The major international air gateway is Auckland International Airport, with Christchurch serving the South Island internationally to a much lesser extent. Wellington's short runway (Wellington harbour is at one end, Cook Strait at the other...) restricts aircraft size to B-767's and smaller, limiting Wellington's international air links to those of Australia and Fiji.
Major container ports are located in Auckland, Tauranga, and Wellington in the north, and Lyttelton in the south. Secondary ports include Napier and New Plymouth in the north, Nelson, Port Chalmers and Bluff in the south.
Influence of Terrain on Transport
The Southern Alps mountain range form a backbone along the entire length of the South Island, and mountain ranges continue their stretch up the lower half of the North Island, before arc-ing north-east, finishing abruptly at East Cape, halfway up the island. Elsewhere the terrain is largely flat and pastural. The road and rail networks shape themselves around the contours of this terrain:
Roading Network
The main north-south highway (SH1) runs the entire length of New Zealand, hugging the east coast of the South Island. At the lower part of the North Island, SH1 skirts along the west coast, avoiding the Tararua and Ruahine Mountain ranges. SH1 moves inland, through the centre of the North Island and runs through a further 700 km to the top of New Zealand.
The total distance North-South is approx 1,600 kilometres. At it's widest point New Zealand is 450 km wide, at it's narrowest (Auckland), a mere 8 km seperates the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea.
There are 3 major east-west mountain passes in the South Island, the commercial route being Arthurs Pass (inland from Christchurch) and the other two acting predominantly as tourism routes. One major route across the North Island's ranges known simply as the Napier-Taupo Road.
The nature of the terrain slows road travel in many regions, and the typical driving time between Auckland and Wellington (750 km) is approx 9-10 hours by truck or train.
Rail Network
The rail network virtually shadows the route of SH1, with one link also over the Southern Alps, and a rail link running part way up the east coast of the North Island, as far as Napier. The main north-south line is fully electrified.
Cook Strait Link
The rail and road networks are linked across the 30 km Cook Strait, by roll-on-roll-off ships and ocean-going catamaran ferries. These vessels cater for passengers, trucks and rail wagons over what is a 3 hour voyage.
Coastal & Waterways
transport along internal waterways (Wanganui and Waikato Rivers) is no a viable commercial option, but since the late-1990's the coastal shipping industry has become a viable and cost-effective domestic transport option since foreign-flagged vessels can participate on coastal routes as part of their international voyages.
Practical Transport Considerations
Some practical implications of this terrain include the difficulty moving over-height goods north from Christchurch by road or rail, as there are a number of coastal tunnels which make this impossible.
Similarly there is a tunnel linking the city of Christchurch with it's port, Lyttelton, through which it is impossible to transport overheight goods. One option is over the precarious 'Port Hills Road' but is unsuited to high centre-of-gravity loads which can become unstable.
NZ ECONOMIC INDICATORS
The following current economic indicators are current to early 2004(source: Statistics NZ)
unemployment 5.0% (one year ago 5.3%)
annual inflation 2.5% (one year ago 2.6%)
interest rate 90-Day Bills 5.25% (one year ago 6.0%)
interest rate first mortgage 7.33% (one year ago 7.75%)
tourist arrivals 102,752 (May) (one year ago 118,244)
exports fob NZ$2.744 billion (May) (one year ago 3.093 billion)
imports cif NZ$2.634 billion (May) (one year ago NZ$2.595 billion)
Sharemarket index (SE40) 2213 (one year ago 2002)
New Building Permits Issued 2,482 (May) (one year ago 2,282)
GDP NZ$ 28.686 billion (March qtr) (one year ago 27.573 billion)
Current Account YTD-4.904 billion (March qtr) (one year ago -2.795 billion)
Average Weekly Earnings$719 (FEB) (one year ago $699)
BIOSECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
New Zealand's economy is highly reliant on agriculture, so border protection is a critical aspect of protecting the country against foreign pests and diseases.Without exception, all FCL containers shipped to New Zealand, must have a packing declaration accompany the shipping documentation. Without such a declaration MAF border officials will deem the goods 'high risk' and order a physical port inspection, costing time and money. Copies of this declaration is available from us in template form via email or fax.
In 2004 MAF introduced new requirements for the import of shipping containers which call for MAF approval of every importer's aceptance point for the unpacking of FCL containers, this approval must be obtained by way of a physical MAF audit inspection. Containers may only be delivered to MAF-approved places of unpacking, which they term ATF (Approved Transitional Facilities). Moreover, they may only be unpacked in the presence of 'Approved Persons' who have undergone MAF training on biosecurity hazards.
As FCL containers may only be delivered to approved sites, these normally do not extend to temporary sites such as building sites which usually have insufficient hard surface and are often in close proximity to grass or soil organics. During 2005 MAF approved most importers' premises as acceptable to receive containers, but these are done only after such premises have been inspected for compliance to the new MAF standards designed to minimise bio security risks. Following inspection of these sites, MAF allocates a number for each and updates it's computer with what it terms the ATF (Approved Transitional Facility) number.
Forestry is one of the leading industries and there is an ever-present risk of biosecurity from imported parasites such as the Russian Gypsy Moth, which is one risk border authorities actively seek to protect from entering.
Bark is a prohibited import as it has the potential to carry wood-boring insect infestations and wooden pallets or items harbouring bark will normally be incinerated or fumigated at the importer's expense.
Whether the goods (or packaging) are wooden, or contain straw, or indeed are edible or animal products, MAF will have an interest in these types of products as they have the potential to harbour insects or micro-pests. If in doubt as to the status of any items, we strongly suggest that you seek our advice before proceeding.
The country is free from all snakes and poisonous spiders, and the only dangerous animals are housed in the zoo...