Fleet Focus

Nearly four years ago when discussions about the future ownership structure of D.T. Kings Transport were in full swing – and the idea of splitting the company among the shareholders was first floated – it was clear the log transport division was already operating somewhat as its own entity.

The sole focus on carting logs was a contrast to the wide variety of livestock, sowing, spreading and rural cartage work being done by the rest of a transport operation that was approaching a fleet size of 200 trucks.

So, creating a new log truck operation from the DTK fleet was a relatively straightforward process, while splitting the fleet for the two other new entities – Kings Rural Transpo... ... 

Acquisitions and mergers are commonplace across the transport industry. And those strategies played a part in the growth of Southland’s D.T. King & Co and [from 2013] D.T. Kings Transport.

But a move in the opposite direction saw the transport operations of the company separate into four entities over the summer of 2022-23. Not through crisis or conflict, but because the shareholders decided the tidiest succession plan for the business was for each to play to their respective strengths and serve their local clients.

The separation of a company that had nearly 200 trucks, and 160 staff, has created two rural carriers each focused on a home region, a log tra... ... 

A transport story isn’t always about the biggest trucks, high horsepower, custom paint, or eye-catching accessories.

The New Zealand division of TSS Sensitive Freight has a fleet of standard white Isuzu light- and medium-duty trucks on the road identified with simple branding.

Yet the company specialises in some of the most carefully planned and complex freight tasks in the industry. TSS moves high-value, high-tech and time-critical cargo, usually on behalf of major global manufacturers.

Operating from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin depots with a current fleet of 10 trucks, the New Zealand division of the Australia-based company was ... ...