Supermarkets bring in purchase limits as floods expose vulnerability of WA’s freight network

After two years of unnecessary panic-buying, could West Australians actually run out of toilet paper?

WA’s supply chain has been thrown into chaos over the past two weeks and is expected to worsen in coming days as a perfect storm of events cripples the state’s logistics network.

Floods have severely damaged the east-west rail link, stopping trains carrying goods and commodities from Adelaide to Perth and Darwin.Credit: ARTC

South Australia copped a drenching in January which meteorologists described as a once-in-200-year rainfall event.

The flooding washed away critical rail and road networks which supply 80 per cent of products into WA and exposed our state’s vulnerability to extreme weather events.

The flooding, coupled with other pandemic-induced impacts in the eastern states, has created an unprecedented logistical nightmare and left authorities scrambling for creative solutions to bring goods into the state.

On Thursday, Woolworths imposed a two-pack purchase limit on items including flour, sugar, rice, paper towels and frozen chips in WA.

Limits on toilet paper and painkillers have been in place nationwide since the middle of January 2022.

Coles followed suit, but also expanded limits to include chicken and sausages.

“There are some products that cannot be produced in WA that retailers must transport from the eastern states,” its statement read.

“This is going to be a challenging time, and we encourage our customers to be flexible if the products they would usually buy are not available.”

Metcash Group chief executive Jeff Adams said the company was working closely with government, suppliers and retailers to keep IGA stores in WA stocked.

“Metcash and our retailers have a very good local supplier base in WA,” he said.

“This means that our retailers are able to source much of their produce locally, including all of their milk as well as the majority of their meat.

“We also have contingency plans in place which include holding additional stock, and being ready to move as much stock as possible onto roads in the event of a rail outage.”

‘Unprecedented’ disruption cuts off WA supply chain

Over east, staff shortages due to COVID absenteeism have hit every part of the food supply chain from farmers, food processors and the transport sector to distribution centres and stores, with the end result being fewer products available for customers.

Australian Rail Track Corporation corporate affairs manager Anthony Meere said 18 sites stretching over 300 kilometres had been affected by flooding and expected the track would remain closed for at least 12 days.

He said an update on timeframes for recovery would be provided later this week.

“We haven’t put a date on it but all of the track is accessible now and our crews are working as quickly as possible to rectify the damage,” he said.

The severing of the network prompted Transport Minister Rita Saffioti to hold a crisis meeting with the Freight and Logistics Council on Tuesday to develop a three-pronged approach to expediting freight into WA.

A land bridge is a priority, with hopes it will be up and running by the end of the week.

Other options include allowing double road trains into Perth via Greenmount Hills, and loading goods onto ships at ports in Sydney and Melbourne.

“It is an extraordinary event and the impact is a lot bigger than it ever has been in the past,” Ms Saffioti said.

But she warned these options would take time to come to fruition and people should only buy what they needed.

“It is a massive logistical exercise,” she said.

“Shipping hasn’t quite been locked away but those triple road trains will increase the capacity of trucks by about 50 per cent.”

Western Roads chief executive Cam Dumesny said the announcement was a great start, but more will need to be done to combat the “unprecedented” supply disruption.

“Not only do we have rail out to get product into WA, we are also 60 to 70 per cent down on air freight because we are not getting passenger flights into the state so that all has to be transported via road,” he said.

“We already had supply chain disruption globally due to the pandemic, then staff shortages on the east coast and now weather-related impacts.

“People in the Kimberley and remote communities are used to this and Perth people will just have to live the experience.”

Mr Dumesny said recent weather and bushfires had exposed the harsh reality of how vulnerable our state’s supply chain is.

In 2020, the only sealed road linking WA and South Australia was closed for 12 days because of bushfires.

The closure of the Eyre Highway left hundreds of truck drivers trapped on both sides of the border.

Coles and Woolworths used other transport options including rail to bring in products and minimise the impact on supermarket shelves.

But the recent flooding has knocked out both road and rail.

“We’ve got to sit back and have a look at how we make our supply chain more resilient because we are very vulnerable to climate impacts,” Mr Dumesny said.

Ms Saffioti said discussions were under way to seal the 2700-kilometre Outback Way, a transcontinental highway running from Laverton in WA through Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, and on to Boulia and Winton in Queensland.

Main Roads is also working with the Northern Territory and the Shire of Halls Creek to upgrade and seal the 311-kilometre WA section of the Tanami Road, another possible east-west freight link.

Extreme weather means challenges set to rise

Pandemic aside, a Department of Water and Environmental Regulation report released on Tuesday predicts more supply chain disruptions could be cards with the number of extreme weather events and bushfires tipped to rise as climate change ramps up.

It follows a stark warning in August 2021 from the world’s leading climate scientists that some changes are now considered inevitable and irreversible.

Australia remains a notable hotspot.

The report predicts an increase in extremely high temperatures, and a consequential increase in the number of dangerous fire weather days is projected.

And even though the total annual rainfall is expected to reduce, the intensity of heavy rainfall events will likely increase, as warmer air can hold more water vapour, a seven per cent increase in atmospheric moisture for every degree of global warming.

These changes will pose significant challenges for transport and our supply chain.

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