Express couriers sign up to lobby group
New Zealand’s leading global express courier companies have united to form a new group to work with government regulatory agencies on issues facing the industry.
The Conference of Asia Pacific Express Carriers NZ will be affiliated with similar organisations Capec Asia based in Singapore and Capec Australia. The founding members are TNT, DHL, FedEx and UPS.
Chairman and TNT managing director Ruud Smeets said group members had in the past consulted together and individually with bodies such as Customs and MAF but establishment of Capec would give them a single industry voice.
“International trade is one of the pillars of New Zealand’s economy and our key objective is to ensure the flow of goods is not hindered by government regulations and bureaucracy,” Mr Smeets said.
“We have made some headway with Customs on mandatory export clearance and reached agreement on fee structures and on-site MAF screening.
“And with the launch of Capec we will be working even more closely with government stake-holders to ensure win-win solutions.”
Mr Smeets said members had actively promoted Customs’ Frontline programme by educating staff to identify prohibited goods such as drugs.
“The express industry has been targeted by organised crime gangs to ship drugs around the world,” he said, “and we are assisting Customs in this area.”
Global express courier companies move more than 30 million packages daily in 220 countries, employ 1.25 million workers and own around 220,000 trucks and delivery vehicles.
The industry operates and owns more than 1800 aircraft and uses 2000 commercial flights a day.
The four Capec NZ member companies have combined annual global revenues of around NZD200 billion.
The express carriers industry in New Zealand is growing at 8 per cent a year.
