What PBT does

PBT (PBT Express Freight Network) is a privately held New Zealand trucking and freight company founded in 1972 by Peter Baker in Wellington, operating across 17 branches nationwide from Kaitaia to Bluff. The company runs a fleet of over 200 Pickup & Delivery Metro trucks and 75+ national Linehaul vehicles, with a 300+ person workforce, and historically handled 50,000+ container moves per year. Its service portfolio spans general freight (pallets, LTL, FTL), container transportation, air and ocean landside freight handling (via the CMT brand acquired in 2018), and specialist cross-docking and 3PL Storage & Distribution. The technology backbone is PBTOne, a proprietary Freight Management System with two modules—PBTOne Transport (booking, label creation, pickup scheduling, consignment tracking, returns, claims) and PBTOne Containers (dehire, hub, storage, VBS booking, real-time movements)—exposed via REST APIs, EDI integration, and Port Connect at Auckland, Tauranga, and Timaru. The GTM is sales-led B2B with self-service and API-first channels: dedicated account managers for high-volume enterprise shippers, plus PBTOne self-service portal and EDI/API for automated workflows. The company is privately held with no public financials disclosed, and as of 1 September 2025 has sold its Transport, Containers, and Logistics business to Mainstream New Zealand Limited, retaining a focused Express Freight Network franchise. Revenue is generated through transaction fees on freight movements, managed services for 3PL contracts, and a usage-based Fuel Adjustment Factor (VFC + RUC) surcharge.

Name

PBT

Legal name

PBT

Website

https://pbt.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

PBT is a privately held New Zealand express freight network operating 17 branches with 200+ metro trucks and 75+ linehaul vehicles, serving B2B shippers with pallets, LTL, FTL, container, air/ocean landside, and 3PL services via the PBTOne digital platform. Following the 2025 sale of Transport, Containers, and Logistics to Mainstream NZ, it now operates as a focused Express Freight Network franchise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight and Logistics Services

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (48851), Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance (48423), Marine Cargo Handling (48832)

SIC

Trucking (No Local) (4213), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Interregional/Long-Haul LTL Network Carriers (TLADAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Full Truckload (FTL) Forwarding (TLACACAA)

Keywords

• Road freight services
• Container transport
• Freight forwarding
• Logistics services
• Freight management software

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Freight Transportation: Nationwide express freight distribution of pallets, LTL (Less Than Truckload) and FTL (Full Truckload) consignments. Revenue generated from transportation services using fleet of over 200 Pickup & Delivery Metro trucks and 75+ Linehaul vehicles.
2. Container Transportation: Local and nationwide FCL (Full Container Load) Container transportation using fleet of swinglifts and skeletal truck & trailers, complemented by coastal shipping and rail services. Handles over 50,000 container moves per year.
3. Air & Ocean Freight Handling: Landside freight handling and transport services for import & export cargo, including Airfreight CTO transfers and CFS pack & unpack services. Revenue from international freight forwarders for domestic landside handling.
4. Logistics & 3PL: Specialist cross-docking and 3PL Storage & Distribution solutions at key strategic points. Services include inbound airfreight, oceanfreight and eCommerce consolidations breakdown, direct injection into nationwide express freight network, and Direct to Store retail distribution.
5. Fuel Adjustment Factor (FAF): Variable Fuel Charge (VFC) applied to all transportation rates based on average national fuel prices, plus Road User Charges (RUC) passed through to customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PBT operated a New Zealand domestic freight and logistics network providing road transport (pallets, LTL, FTL), container transport and depot services, international air and ocean freight forwarding, and contract logistics, supported by the proprietary PBTOne Freight Management System with REST API and EDI integration for shippers, 3PLs, and software vendors.

Product overview

PBT is NZ's leading Express Freight Network offering a comprehensive range of freight services. The core product is PBTOne, a unified Freight Management System platform comprising two integrated modules: PBTOne Transport for palletised freight operations (booking, labels, scheduling, tracking, returns, claims) and PBTOne Containers for FCL container management (job updates, dehire, hub, storage, movements). Supporting the PBTOne platform are four core service lines: Freight Services (nationwide express pallet, LTL and FTL distribution across 17 branches), Air & Ocean Freight (landside handling and transport for import/export cargo), Container Services (FCL container haulage with 50,000+ annual moves), and Logistics (cross-docking and 3PL storage & distribution). Together these services cover New Zealand from Kaitaia to Bluff, providing end-to-end freight solutions for businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PBTOne: Freight Management System providing full control, real-time visibility, booking, tracking, and insights for transport and container freight.
• CMT

Products and services

• PBT Road Freight Network Nationwide New Zealand road freight services including LTL (less-than-truckload) and FTL (full truckload) pallet transport and general freight across 17 branches from Kaitaia to Bluff.
• PBT Containers Container transport, handling, and depot services including empty container parks, supporting 50,000+ container moves per year across New Zealand.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50,000+ container moves handled per year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Mainstream New Zealand LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 August 2025PBT agreed to sell its Transport, Containers, and Logistics business to Mainstream New Zealand Limited effective 1 September 2025. This combines two strong, service-driven national networks. Mainstream takes ownership of day-to-day operations while customers continue to use PBTOne platform. PBT retains focus on Express Freight Network services. The integration process is underway with focus on operational stability.
• Central GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Partnership with Central Group to convert PBT's entire forklift fleet from diesel to electric using Heli Electric Forklifts. The conversion was completed in March 2025 and has cut over 1,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, representing approximately 3% of PBT's total emissions footprint. The partnership delivered environmental benefits (zero-emission forklifts), health and safety improvements (reduced noise and air pollution), and operational efficiency (enhanced handling, longer runtime).

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hi-Quality Group: Hi-Quality Group is a privately held New Zealand freight, civil contracting, and quarrying company with significant linehaul and metro trucking operations. It is comparable to PBT on NZ road freight and linehaul network ownership, and competes for industrial and bulk freight customers across the country.
• NZ Couriers: NZ Couriers is a domestic courier and freight network (part of the Toll group) operating a multi-branch NZ-wide pickup and delivery service. It is comparable to PBT on nationwide NZ branch coverage, B2B parcel/pallet freight, and digital booking platform offerings, though it skews more toward smaller parcels and couriers than PBT's pallet/LTL focus.
• Mainstream New Zealand Limited: Mainstream NZ is one of New Zealand's largest transport and logistics operators, and acquired PBT's Transport, Containers, and Logistics business effective September 2025. It is directly comparable on road freight (FTL/LTL/pallets), container haulage, and nationwide NZ coverage — and is now the successor operator to most of PBT's historical scope.
• MOVE Logistics: MOVE Logistics is a New Zealand freight, container, and warehousing provider serving importers, exporters, and 3PL customers. It is comparable to PBT on FCL container haulage, road freight, and cross-dock offerings, and competes for similar freight-forwarder and importer/exporter accounts across NZ.
• Fliway Holdings: Fliway is a New Zealand-based freight, container, and 3PL provider offering FTL/LTL road freight, FCL container haulage, and contract logistics. It is directly comparable to PBT on product portfolio, NZ market focus, and B2B shipper customer base, competing especially in metro and linehaul segments.
• Kings Transport: Kings Transport is a privately held NZ freight, courier, and 3PL provider with Auckland roots and national reach. It is comparable to PBT on metro delivery, linehaul, 3PL warehousing, and B2B customer focus, and competes in the Auckland metro and inter-regional road freight segments.

Regional players

• Team Global Express: Team Global Express is one of Australia's largest road freight, parcel, and logistics operators (formerly Toll's Australian domestic arm). It is comparable to PBT on road freight and 3PL offerings, primarily serves Australia rather than NZ, but represents the same asset-heavy national linehaul network model.

Emerging players

• Castle Parcels: Castle Parcels is a New Zealand parcel and freight delivery network serving B2B shippers with nationwide coverage. It is comparable to PBT on nationwide NZ branch operations and parcel/freight distribution, but focuses more narrowly on small-parcel and eCommerce delivery than PBT's pallet/LTL/FTL and container operations.

Broad incumbents

• Toll Group: Toll Group is a major Asia-Pacific logistics provider (owned by Japan Post) with substantial New Zealand operations spanning freight, express parcels, and forwarding. It is comparable to PBT on road freight, container handling, and B2B/3PL customer offerings, and competes head-to-head in NZ's domestic linehaul market.
• Mainfreight: Mainfreight is New Zealand's largest listed freight and logistics company (NZX/ASX: MFT) with operations across road, rail, air, and ocean freight. It is the most direct and dominant competitor to PBT in NZ domestic freight and is comparable on product breadth (FTL/LTL, container, 3PL), customer base (B2B shippers, freight forwarders), and national branch coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PBT