Fertiliser giant Incitec Pivot has struck a deal with the federal government to work on raising production of a key ingredient for the diesel additive AdBlue.
It’s time for investors and consumers to sit up and take notice of the anaemic state of global supply chains,which are likely to get worse before they get better.
The shortage of urea,the chemical compound of which the diesel exhaust fluid AdBlue is made,threatens Australia’s entire transport sector. It’s being driven by some of the key factors that have bedevilled global supply chains since the onset of the pandemic.
The trucking industry has warned of further blowouts in delivery times and shortages of goods by early next year,if a plan to address a key shortage in fuel additive - AdBlue - is unsuccessful.
About 5 per cent of interstate truck drivers have moved on over vaccination mandates while authorities investigate the use of rapid antigen tests.
Truck drivers are in short supply in Victoria after an exodus fast-tracked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of drivers is putting stress on the state’s supply chain.
Staff at three delivery companies will stage a coordinated national strike on Thursday unless the companies give in to union demands.
Queensland is considering whether to tighten restrictions around truck drivers,after nearly a dozen recent COVID scares connected to freight workers.
The drivers,aged 23 and 29,crossed the Eucla border into WA on Thursday before their surveillance tests from the day before came back positive on Friday morning.
Workers at Toll Group kicked off the first of a wave of strikes expected across the industry in the coming weeks as its union pushes for higher pay and less outsourcing.
A national truckies strike is set for Friday,while a rogue protest aimed at border restrictions is due to take place on Tuesday.