One port deal has thrown off the delicate balance of New Zealand’s cargo movements.

To what extent should ports be passive participants in freight movements, acting as silent gateways while their customers, principally shipping lines and shippers, define the logistics patterns that move freight to the port? Should they instead play a role in influencing a country’s supply chain? These questions are currently being asked in New Zealand.

The questions have been raised by the case of a port - Tauranga - getting into contractual situations with a major exporter and a shipping line, in a deal that has caused unforeseen changes to the country’s logistics patterns.