Respected former editor of now defunct 'Business Review Weekly'...

Respected former editor of now defunct 'Business Review Weekly' Robert Gottliebsen writes in 'The Australian':

(this is not a comment necessarily 100 per cent accurate for LAU, which transports an enormous amount of fresh produce, though given floods in say Queensland's Lockyer Valley that have adversely affected vegetable production, one ought not dismiss RG's musings out of hand):

"...In the days leading up to the weekend, major retailers got a clear sniff from some of the big transport operators that they were bleeding because their costs were exploding and profits were evaporating. In the pipeline were dramatic price increases that would vary between 6 to 8 per cent but in the broad would be fulfil the 7 per cent forecast of Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe

If, as is likely, the retail expectation is correct then there will be vigorous argument between big retailers and big transport. If the transport prices rise by around 7 per cent then Australia is well on the way to fulfilling the Lowe forecast because the cost of transport impacts the entire nation. And still coming down the pipeline is the “Albanese wage rise” set for the early months of 2022-23.

But, as retailers tell me, there was a sting in some of the messages being received from the big transport companies.

In the last couple of years the main object of the large transport operators has been to supply as much capacity as was possible given all the hazards that were encountered. Inevitably along with fuel and other outside factors that has boosted operating costs, while demand was roaring it didn’t seem to matter.

But in recent times there’s been a clear slackening in demand. The message from the transport companies is that the slowdown is not severe but it is noticeable and combined with higher costs is putting some companies close to being in the red so they have to raise prices..."