SIMIC

There are concerns for New Zealand's supply chain security now that global shipping giant Maersk announced it would drop its national shipping service, reports Radio New Zealand.
Maersk said it would withdraw its dedicated New Zealand coastal service, known as Coastal Connect, from next month after less than a year in operation.
As part of the service, two vessels links various ports including Auckland, Tauranga, Timaru, Lyttelton and Nelson.
Instead, the company will now upgrade its trans-Tasman Polaris service to a weekly service.
But the Maritime Union said the move was a step backwards for New Zealand's supply chain security, with between 36 and 38 staff being made redundant.
Union national secretary Craig Harrison said the sudden withdrawal of the Coastal Connect service showed the volatility and insecurity of New Zealand's supply chain.
"This continual market volatility is bad for New Zealand and will have a flow-on effect to importers and exporters, and thus the whole economy," Mr Harrison said.
The union's Auckland branch secretary, Russell Mayn, said costs might also increase as a result of the changes. "The cost of putting goods through an Australian port is a lot higher than a New Zealand port, so you would think that it must [costs must go up]," said Mr Mayn.
In response, Maersk said the changes would enhance New Zealand supply chain with improved flexible services and better connections to overseas markets.
"We continue to invest in the New Zealand market with additional vessels being added to our network to limit impact from the current disruption, including an additional vessel on our J-star Service (connecting New Zealand with North East Asia) where we added a seventh vessel earlier this year," the company said.