The New Zealand transport sector is "facing cost pressures like never before," with surging oil prices causing headaches for multiple industries.
Nick Leggett, transporting NZ chief executive, says there are concerns for the survival of some small businesses.
"The nearly one in five businesses who report they are unable to pass on increased costs to customers obviously face the greatest threat," he told RNZ.
"We are raising the alarm given the fragility of our supply chain. The trucking industry carries 93 percent of freight so these survey results really go to the heart of supply chain vulnerability. Simply put, if operators can't make their business viable, trucks don't move, and if trucks don't move, shelves don't get stocked."
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Transport NZ says 9 out of 10 transport businesses have noticed an increase in costs, "unsurprisingly, fuel has been the major cost increase".
Last year, just 20 percent of the industry had petrol making up over a quarter of their business costs. But now, this number has increased to 64 percent of businesses.
"Today, 64 percent say fuel is more than a quarter of their costs. A total of 45 percent of operators say fuel is now in excess of 30 percent of their costs; a year ago that was just 8 percent," says Leggett.
He also says the industry has customers with significantly more market power than before, with some trucking firms saying they're met with a "flat refusal" to pay a higher price for carrying freight.
"Often there isn't a fair share being paid to some trucking businesses and I think what we're going to see is a reduction of those businesses," Legget told RNZ.
"If lots of trucking businesses fall over, we're not going to have that ability in the supply chain to keep things moving. We've already seen a stressed supply chain, and I think we're going to see more of that if this kind of behaviour continues."