Northline offers "premium" over-night service from North Queensland to Brisbane
National freight company Northline is offering over-night services from North Queensland to Brisbane.
A shuttle service will allow the company to prioritise premium shipments through the Queensland network, cutting the standard three-day delivery to just one.
North Queensland is a major area of activity for Northline, which operates some 16 B-doubles into the region every week.
After opening a modern new depot at Pinkenba in Brisbane, Northline CEO Craige Whitton says the new service gives customers more options in managing inventory.
“Instead of having to stock lower-demand products locally, they can premium-freight them overnight,” he says.
“The other area from which we have strong demand for this service is from customers in the engineering, mechanical and mine supply sectors. When important equipment breaks, they require replacement components quick smart, which is what our premium service is designed for.”
The Premium freight shuttle service into North Queensland is in addition to Northline’s general scheduled services. Departing Brisbane from Monday to Friday, the service provides a link to Gladstone, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Mt Isa and surrounding areas.
As well as an overnight service from Brisbane to Mackay and Townsville, Northline is offering a two-day service from Sydney and a three-day service form Melbourne to Mackay and Townsville. An extra day is required to reach Cairns.
Whitton says he expects strong demand for freight services from northern Australia.
“We expect demand to continue growing, so we are preparing ourselves in Queensland, with the new Brisbane depot and the premium service to North Queensland, to meet that demand. It also positions us well for Queensland-based projects including booming government infrastructure programs,” he says.