KiwiRail Block of Line - King's Birthday Weekend

Just a reminder to all that NZ will be celebrating Matariki this Friday, 20th June. Hobbs Global will be closed, returning to normal operations on Monday, 23rd June. Please ensure that any urgent shipments/clearances/orders are sent through to our team well ahead of time to ensure there are no hold ups in processing and delivery of goods. As always, please reach out to the Hobbs Global team if you have any queries/concerns.

Early last week, it was confirmed by the Ports of Auckland that there are plans to introduce a 77% increase in Vehicle Booking System (VBS) charges for road transport operators accessing the Ports in 2026. Port of Auckland intends to increase charges for on-peak hour bookings (5:00am - 5:59pm; Monday-Friday). The first 50% of the increase is scheduled to apply from 1st January 2026, with the balance to take effect from 1st July 2026. The Port of Auckland's intent, while forming a part of Auckland Council's revenue stream, is to make bookings during off-peak hours considerably cheaper than on-peak (6:00pm - 4:59am weekends/public holidays) to encourage carriers and customers to collect/deliver freight during off-peak hours. These changes will increase both costs associated with imports and exports to and from Port of Auckland. Please get in touch with the Hobbs Global Team to discuss how we can better navigate your freight forwarding process to help minimise these costs where possible.