Covid-19 Updates: Higher than expected volume – Delivery delays

Friday November 26th, 2021

Please be aware that we continue to experience considerably higher than normal parcel volumes throughout the country. Last week we experienced our busiest week of the year so far and as at Thursday 25th November, we are on track to eclipse that record.

While Auckland will be moving out of Alert level 3, Black Friday and Christmas volumes will more than likely set a new benchmark next week. This will continue to put pressure on the system which will result in continued delays into and out of Auckland in particular.

To ensure the wellbeing and safety of our team and the wider community, we will continue to operate with protocols such as segregated shifts and social distancing as advised by the Ministry of Health. Our people are operating in extremely challenging conditions and we are incredibly proud of their performance and grateful for their hard work and commitment since COVID re-appeared in the community again in mid-August.

In addition to activating our peak plan early, we have significantly increased personnel for freight sorting and delivery. Auckland has acquired an additional processing facility, a 2200m2 canopy is currently under construction to stage freight and we have just signed up to new and significantly larger premises in West Auckland.

While all this helps, the unrelenting volume means we are currently experiencing delays of approximately 2-5 business days.

To add to an already challenging environment, the Rail and Maritime Transport Union has indicated they will be taking industrial action in December in the form of a strike. This is likely to be two days and will affect all rail and ferry services in New Zealand. During that period we will not be able to accept any two-day Inter Island freight as it will not be able to move across the Cook Strait. We do not have the capacity to store this volume, nor afford to lose the transport containers from our network that this freight will sit in for the 4-5 day period. The strike is expected to take place 15-16 December, however as more information comes to hand, we continue to provide updates.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could please refrain from contacting our branches if your delivery has been delayed for less than 5 working days.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, we can assure you that we are constantly working to improve the situation and thank you for your patience at this time.

The team at Castle Parcels