A freight-management company has been launched by Fonterra and Silver Fern Farms, servicing about one third of all containers leaving New Zealand.
The aim of Kotahi, which will start operating on August 1, was to bring New Zealand's exporters and importers together to lift the performance of the country's supply chain.
It would create a "sea change" that would help businesses be more competitive in global markets, Fonterra trade and operations managing director Gary Romano said in a statement.
"Export earnings are New Zealand's bread and butter - just last year the collective return was over $40 billion. This is a great success story, but as the world changes there is a real risk we will be squeezed out.
"We are the most remote developed country in the world relative to international markets and the way we get our products to and from these markets is critical to continued success," he said.
Exporters like Silver Fern Farms were facing a loss of international business if ocean freight services continued to decline, chief executive Keith Cooper said.
"Our ability to compete comes back to having efficient and reliable freight networks that offer quicker transit times and solid schedules. If we fail at this we put our exporting success story in serious jeopardy."
Kotahi chief executive Chris Greenough said the company's initial focus would be working with exporters and ocean carriers to create greater efficiency and service enhancements in sea freight.
Co-operation with others to develop more efficient rail, road and port usage would "naturally follow".
KiwiRail Freight general manager Iain Hill applauded the initiative for recognising the advantage of managing freight demand across industries, while Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson said greater collaboration among supply chain players had to be good for New Zealand.
