If ever we needed a reminder of the vital, irreplaceable role trucks and the transport industry play in keeping our economy (and broader society for that matter) ticking along, the global fuel crisis has surely delivered it.
As a colleague recently wrote, across Australia, trucks are on the move every day – heading for farms, factories, construction sites, ports, warehouses, supermarkets and regional communities. And it does not start or finish on the road. This is an industry that stretches across depots, warehouses, workshops and factories – with tens of thousands more people behind the scenes loading, maintaining, planning and supporting the freight task every day.
Without the supply of (affordable) fuel, it all comes to a grinding halt. Not only does it affect the supply of fuel in service station bowsers, but it also quickly flows on to a lack of food and other essentials on supermarket shelves, life-saving equipment and supplies at our hospitals, parts to keep our machinery operating, and construction materials to build our roads, schools and shelter. Remember Covid?
Shining a light on the people and businesses that are critical in keeping Australia moving was the motivating reason behind the launch of ROADBOSS some two years ago.
And as our latest issue highlights, the contribution of trucks and the transport industry reach into all corners of the economy, from the transportation of mining and construction equipment to fertilizers and grain – and even prefabricated homes!
Highlights of our Autumn Issue include:
> The Grumpy Pete: Harrison Hunkin travels to freezing cold Massachusetts to find out how a bloke from rural Australia ended up as a viral social media sensation in the United States, amassing over 600,000 followers and millions upon millions of likes.
> Honourable discharge: In a world-first, Daniel Gardner rides with a Volvo FM Electric as it transports a 20-tonne, nine-start energy rated ‘eco’ home 180km from the Yarra Valley to Australia’s first net-zero carbon housing project at Cape Paterson on the Bass Coast of Victoria – but not without a hiccup along the way.
> Billy rolls on: Cobey Bartels relives TJ Clark & Sons’ journey, a century-long trek through the beating heart of Sydney; a story of draught horses, yellow iron, and a 1976 Autocar that finally found its way home.
> A tale of two halves: Harrison Hunkin travels from one end of the globe to the other for this story on the Monjean family, which have been in German transport since the days of horse and cart. Now four generations on, Detlef and Corinne Monjean’s son Max has decided to enter the family business … in Murray Bridge, South Australia!
> Reservoir dogs: Cobey Bartels jumps in for the final day of a reservoir refurbishment project in Mackay with the Hayden family, before embarking on the home run to Townsville … with a surprise truck delivery along the way.
We hope you enjoy the Autumn issue of ROADBOSS! To subscribe click here.
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