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Why do we need Roads
3 years 11 months ago #209451
by Roderick Smith
Replied by Roderick Smith on topic Why do we need Roads
Roderick.
Plenty of stock, but truck curfews hinder shops from replenishing shelves March 11, 2020. 75 comments
Curfews on trucks are stopping tissues, food and other supplies from getting onto shop shelves, causing problems for retailers facing coronavirus-fuelled panic buying of products like toilet roll, pasta and hand sanitiser.
The restrictions imposed by hundreds of separate local councils on when trucks can use certain roads is causing shop owners to struggle to get products from well-stocked distribution centres into stores, Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman warned on Wednesday.
Retailers Association says truck curfews are hindering the restocking of shelves after panic-buying.Credit:Nic Walker
"Local governments impose curfews in certain areas. Under normal circumstances that's not an issue, trucks have exhaust brakes and do make a noise," Mr Zimmerman said.
But he said the current situation of customers buying excessive amounts of products to stock up amid fears of shortages and quarantines was leaving shelves empty, which is causing more panic buying.
Curfews on large vehicles are typically imposed for the benefit of local residents who may be bothered by the noise and emissions from trucks. In some cases, this means the cut-off for deliveries could be at 10pm and run until the morning leaving shops waiting for deliveries long after shops have opened, Mr Zimmerman said.
video Coronavirus: Toilet paper panic Toilet paper and other essential goods are running low in supermarkets around the country due to coronavirus panic buying.
"There are hundreds of local government authorities. What we need is a blanket rule ... to get products in [the shops] and stock on the shelf," he said. "All the major retailers have talked about it."
The Victorian state government also imposes curfews on heavy vehicles, and while deliveries are exempt under those rules, local government curfews can apply.
The ARA represents the country's $325 billion retail sector and has high-profile board members including Chemist Warehouse chairman Jack Gance, Forty Winks chairman Drew Meads and Jeanswest chief executive Mark Daynes.
"It's a panic situation and it doesn't need to be, these distribution centres have bucket-loads of stock, even the factories have loads of stock," he said. "There is not a shortage."
Mr Zimmerman said during a coronavirus industry roundtable on Wednesday with Industry Minister Karen Andrews he had assurance from the government it would try to resolve the issue.
ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman.
"What we need is the curfews to be lifted so that the supplies can [get to] the retailers so that there is plenty of stock for everybody," he said.
"If we could get those trucks into those retail stores at other times beyond the curfew times, there is a huge opportunity to get the stocks into the shelves so that people would then realise that the stock is there," he said.
"Nothing breeds a problem more than what we're seeing on the shelves at the moment, but the sad part is the stock is there, so there's no need to panic buy. I cannot emphasise that enough."
Ms Andrews said the federal government was working closely with manufacturers and suppliers to sort through these supply chain issues.
Victorian Transport Association chief executive Peter Anderson said "a more constructive solution would be to enact permanent clearways on arterial roads and freight routes, which would ease congestion during peak and off peak times and create greater supply chain efficiencies.
"Clearways are less discriminatory and are a more sensible approach to managing traffic flows on congested roads," he said.
Related Article Footage of the women allegedly fighting over toilet paper at the Woolworths in Chullora on Saturday. Panic shoppers: To be honest, I wish I hadn't pressed 'play'
< www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/plent...20200311-p5493n.html >
200311W-Melbourne'Age'-delivery.semitrailer
Plenty of stock, but truck curfews hinder shops from replenishing shelves March 11, 2020. 75 comments
Curfews on trucks are stopping tissues, food and other supplies from getting onto shop shelves, causing problems for retailers facing coronavirus-fuelled panic buying of products like toilet roll, pasta and hand sanitiser.
The restrictions imposed by hundreds of separate local councils on when trucks can use certain roads is causing shop owners to struggle to get products from well-stocked distribution centres into stores, Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman warned on Wednesday.
Retailers Association says truck curfews are hindering the restocking of shelves after panic-buying.Credit:Nic Walker
"Local governments impose curfews in certain areas. Under normal circumstances that's not an issue, trucks have exhaust brakes and do make a noise," Mr Zimmerman said.
But he said the current situation of customers buying excessive amounts of products to stock up amid fears of shortages and quarantines was leaving shelves empty, which is causing more panic buying.
Curfews on large vehicles are typically imposed for the benefit of local residents who may be bothered by the noise and emissions from trucks. In some cases, this means the cut-off for deliveries could be at 10pm and run until the morning leaving shops waiting for deliveries long after shops have opened, Mr Zimmerman said.
video Coronavirus: Toilet paper panic Toilet paper and other essential goods are running low in supermarkets around the country due to coronavirus panic buying.
"There are hundreds of local government authorities. What we need is a blanket rule ... to get products in [the shops] and stock on the shelf," he said. "All the major retailers have talked about it."
The Victorian state government also imposes curfews on heavy vehicles, and while deliveries are exempt under those rules, local government curfews can apply.
The ARA represents the country's $325 billion retail sector and has high-profile board members including Chemist Warehouse chairman Jack Gance, Forty Winks chairman Drew Meads and Jeanswest chief executive Mark Daynes.
"It's a panic situation and it doesn't need to be, these distribution centres have bucket-loads of stock, even the factories have loads of stock," he said. "There is not a shortage."
Mr Zimmerman said during a coronavirus industry roundtable on Wednesday with Industry Minister Karen Andrews he had assurance from the government it would try to resolve the issue.
ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman.
"What we need is the curfews to be lifted so that the supplies can [get to] the retailers so that there is plenty of stock for everybody," he said.
"If we could get those trucks into those retail stores at other times beyond the curfew times, there is a huge opportunity to get the stocks into the shelves so that people would then realise that the stock is there," he said.
"Nothing breeds a problem more than what we're seeing on the shelves at the moment, but the sad part is the stock is there, so there's no need to panic buy. I cannot emphasise that enough."
Ms Andrews said the federal government was working closely with manufacturers and suppliers to sort through these supply chain issues.
Victorian Transport Association chief executive Peter Anderson said "a more constructive solution would be to enact permanent clearways on arterial roads and freight routes, which would ease congestion during peak and off peak times and create greater supply chain efficiencies.
"Clearways are less discriminatory and are a more sensible approach to managing traffic flows on congested roads," he said.
Related Article Footage of the women allegedly fighting over toilet paper at the Woolworths in Chullora on Saturday. Panic shoppers: To be honest, I wish I hadn't pressed 'play'
< www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/plent...20200311-p5493n.html >
200311W-Melbourne'Age'-delivery.semitrailer
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3 years 11 months ago #210093
by Roderick Smith
Replied by Roderick Smith on topic Why do we need Roads
Roderick:
Fri.20.3.20:
* 6.44 NSW has joined Victoria in lifting truck curfews, allowing supermarkets to receive deliveries 24 hours a day. The state government has moved to override local council rules that restrict the movement of trucks late at night in certain areas. “We need to make sure these products can move from factories to shelves as quickly as possible,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in a statement on Friday. “We are moving quickly so truck drivers can make deliveries to supermarkets around the clock. It is important that people now stop unnecessary panic buying.”
< www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/corona...20200319-p54c0d.html >
200320F-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-supermarket.trucks.jpg
Fri.20.3.20:
* 6.44 NSW has joined Victoria in lifting truck curfews, allowing supermarkets to receive deliveries 24 hours a day. The state government has moved to override local council rules that restrict the movement of trucks late at night in certain areas. “We need to make sure these products can move from factories to shelves as quickly as possible,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in a statement on Friday. “We are moving quickly so truck drivers can make deliveries to supermarkets around the clock. It is important that people now stop unnecessary panic buying.”
< www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/corona...20200319-p54c0d.html >
200320F-Melbourne'HeraldSun'-supermarket.trucks.jpg
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3 years 11 months ago #210173
by Roderick Smith
Replied by Roderick Smith on topic Why do we need Roads
Roderick
Truckies in top gear.
Truck driver Phil Carey has hauled food all over Australia for 25 years, and knows truckies aren’t always among the nation’s most-loved figures.
“We don’t get much recognition. We get blamed for the bad things but never for the good things we do – like putting food on people's table," he said.
Truckie Phil Carey (left) and colleague Geoff at the depot.Credit:Daniel Pockett
This week though, with coronavirus seeing Australians face the shock of bare supermarket shelves for staples for the first time in living memory, truck drivers’ importance is being recognised like never before.
“People are now appreciating what we do,” said Mr Carey, who works for the Glen Cameron Group. Its 700-plus fleet of trucks is now moving food for Woolworths and Aldi, which it doesn’t normally deliver for. The surge in demand has seen them take on the extra work.
The chief executive of another trucking company, 76-year-old Ron Finemore, says his company’s fleet of 250 prime- movers is handling more produce than he has seen during his 59 years in trucking. “It’s like 10 days of Christmas happening all at once,” he said.
< www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/coro...20200320-p54cfn.html >
Australia will 'shut down overnight' if coronavirus hits truckies March 21, 2020
Decades of neglect have left the trucking sector understaffed and at severe risk of collapse if coronavirus spreads throughout its drivers, a West Australian truckie has warned.
South West Express owner Mark Mazza said the average age of Australian truck drivers was over 60 and without younger drivers replacing them, numbers had dwindled.
The transport industry's dwindling driver numbers put it at risk during the coronavirus outbreak, a WA company has warned.Credit:Justin McManus
Mr Mazza said with panic-buying sending grocery deliveries through the roof, the industry didn’t have the manpower to withstand an outbreak.
“Honestly if the transport industry gets the virus amongst the drivers it is going to shut down the country overnight,” he said. “I’m not an alarmist, I am a realist.
“If it gets into the transport industry and our truck drivers are at home for two weeks and there is nobody to drive those trucks then the supply chain breaks down rapidly.”
Mr Mazza said the industry had been taken for granted by politicians and maligned by the media, which had turned younger drivers away.
He has sent letters and nagged politicians for years calling for a trucking apprenticeship to improve the prestige of the industry and skill level of drivers entering.
“This is a wake-up call if we get out of it,” he said.
“They really need to start taking transport seriously. The only way to do that is to have a proper TAFE qualification, forget the [registered training organisations], they’re only interested in the financial outcome.
“We need a government-run TAFE system with proper facilities where they teach people how to properly operate a truck.”
The transport industry has had a volatile two months, with companies either experiencing plummeting demand, or too much to handle.
The Australian Trucking Association said container business had dropped 70 to 80 per cent and interstate transport had also plummeted.
In a submission to the federal government, the association asked for an increase in the instant asset write-off threshold to $450,000 for Australian-made equipment and the extension of the delivery timeframe to December 31, 2020.
It also asked to set the road user charge on fuel to zero for the June quarter 2020 and defer increases in road user and registration charges for a year.
Related Article Sparks fly from a welder's arc on the assembly line at the Belarusian Autoworks Belaz OJSC heavy vehicle plant in Zhodino, Belarus, on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. Belaz is a major world manufacturer of mining dump trucks of heavy-duty and super-size load capacity, as well as the other heavy vehicles, being used in mining and construction branches of industry. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg WA unions warn sick employees could chance it at work unless support improves
< www.watoday.com.au/national/western-aust...20200320-p54cf7.html >
200321Sa-Melbourne'Age'-truckies.jpg
200320F-'WAToday'-trucking-ss.jpg
Truckies in top gear.
Truck driver Phil Carey has hauled food all over Australia for 25 years, and knows truckies aren’t always among the nation’s most-loved figures.
“We don’t get much recognition. We get blamed for the bad things but never for the good things we do – like putting food on people's table," he said.
Truckie Phil Carey (left) and colleague Geoff at the depot.Credit:Daniel Pockett
This week though, with coronavirus seeing Australians face the shock of bare supermarket shelves for staples for the first time in living memory, truck drivers’ importance is being recognised like never before.
“People are now appreciating what we do,” said Mr Carey, who works for the Glen Cameron Group. Its 700-plus fleet of trucks is now moving food for Woolworths and Aldi, which it doesn’t normally deliver for. The surge in demand has seen them take on the extra work.
The chief executive of another trucking company, 76-year-old Ron Finemore, says his company’s fleet of 250 prime- movers is handling more produce than he has seen during his 59 years in trucking. “It’s like 10 days of Christmas happening all at once,” he said.
< www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/coro...20200320-p54cfn.html >
Australia will 'shut down overnight' if coronavirus hits truckies March 21, 2020
Decades of neglect have left the trucking sector understaffed and at severe risk of collapse if coronavirus spreads throughout its drivers, a West Australian truckie has warned.
South West Express owner Mark Mazza said the average age of Australian truck drivers was over 60 and without younger drivers replacing them, numbers had dwindled.
The transport industry's dwindling driver numbers put it at risk during the coronavirus outbreak, a WA company has warned.Credit:Justin McManus
Mr Mazza said with panic-buying sending grocery deliveries through the roof, the industry didn’t have the manpower to withstand an outbreak.
“Honestly if the transport industry gets the virus amongst the drivers it is going to shut down the country overnight,” he said. “I’m not an alarmist, I am a realist.
“If it gets into the transport industry and our truck drivers are at home for two weeks and there is nobody to drive those trucks then the supply chain breaks down rapidly.”
Mr Mazza said the industry had been taken for granted by politicians and maligned by the media, which had turned younger drivers away.
He has sent letters and nagged politicians for years calling for a trucking apprenticeship to improve the prestige of the industry and skill level of drivers entering.
“This is a wake-up call if we get out of it,” he said.
“They really need to start taking transport seriously. The only way to do that is to have a proper TAFE qualification, forget the [registered training organisations], they’re only interested in the financial outcome.
“We need a government-run TAFE system with proper facilities where they teach people how to properly operate a truck.”
The transport industry has had a volatile two months, with companies either experiencing plummeting demand, or too much to handle.
The Australian Trucking Association said container business had dropped 70 to 80 per cent and interstate transport had also plummeted.
In a submission to the federal government, the association asked for an increase in the instant asset write-off threshold to $450,000 for Australian-made equipment and the extension of the delivery timeframe to December 31, 2020.
It also asked to set the road user charge on fuel to zero for the June quarter 2020 and defer increases in road user and registration charges for a year.
Related Article Sparks fly from a welder's arc on the assembly line at the Belarusian Autoworks Belaz OJSC heavy vehicle plant in Zhodino, Belarus, on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. Belaz is a major world manufacturer of mining dump trucks of heavy-duty and super-size load capacity, as well as the other heavy vehicles, being used in mining and construction branches of industry. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg WA unions warn sick employees could chance it at work unless support improves
< www.watoday.com.au/national/western-aust...20200320-p54cf7.html >
200321Sa-Melbourne'Age'-truckies.jpg
200320F-'WAToday'-trucking-ss.jpg
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