Founded in Auckland in 2006, Freight Direct has grown from a two-person customs brokerage into one of New Zealand’s most complete logistics providers — freight forwarding, customs brokerage, 3PL warehousing, and road distribution under one roof.
Air and ocean freight forwarding to and from all major global trade lanes. FCL, LCL, and breakbulk by sea. In-house customs brokerage and MPI clearance. Backed by a global network of trusted agents in virtually every country — no third-party handoffs on the NZ side.
30,000m² across Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. cloud WMS, pick-and-pack, e-commerce fulfilment, CCA-bonded storage at Drury, and high-tonne forklift capability for bulk and project cargo.
Licensed customs brokers handling import and export entries, MPI biosecurity clearance, FTA duty optimisation, and tariff classification. CCA licence for bonded goods storage and duty deferral.
Domestic distribution coordinated through long-term road carrier partners with integrated systems. Linehaul between our four NZ locations. Last-mile delivery to any NZ address, with oversize and over-mass permits for project cargo.
“We started because we believed NZ importers and exporters deserved a freight company that took ownership of the whole job — not just their piece of it.”
Rahul Varma — Founder & Managing Director
16,000m² — South Auckland
FCL, LCL & breakbulk — all major NZ ports
Up to 10-tonne forklift capacity
Auckland, Tauranga, Napier & Lyttelton port connections
Asia · Middle East · Europe · Americas — weekly departures
Owner-operated. Accountable. Present.
Not a mission statement. The actual things we believe about how logistics should be done.
We do not hand off to third parties and hope for the best. In-house customs brokers, in-house warehouse, in-house transport. When something goes wrong — and in logistics, things go wrong — there is one number to call and one team that owns the fix.
Freight surprises cost money. We pre-advise MPI requirements before goods ship, check FTA eligibility before lodging entries, and flag schedule changes before they become delays. Our job is to eliminate the surprises, not react to them.
NZ freight is specific. MPI has specific biosecurity requirements. NZCS has specific tariff classifications. ChAFTA has specific CO requirements. Generic freight advice is dangerous. We know the NZ-specific rules and apply them to every shipment.
our cloud WMS and WiseGrid TMS, StarShipIt, and native e-commerce integrations are in production use across our warehouses. We invested in systems that make our team faster and give clients real visibility — not dashboards that look impressive and tell you nothing.
Rahul Varma starts Freight Direct as a customs brokerage and freight forwarding operation in Auckland. Two staff, one office, and a focus on doing the job properly.
Moved into our first warehouse in South Auckland. The start of our 3PL and warehousing offering — giving clients a place to land, store, and distribute from.
Opened our Penrose, Auckland warehouse as a dedicated pick-and-pack and e-commerce fulfilment hub. Simultaneously opened our Wellington office to cover the lower North Island.
Added Christchurch warehouse and operations at 272 Main South Road, Hornby. Freight Direct now covers all four main NZ centres with staff and facilities on the ground.
Built our first purpose-built facility — 7,000m² at Mangere, Auckland. Designed for container devanning, MPI inspections, and high-throughput import cargo.
Rolled out cloud WMS across all warehouse locations. Real-time inventory visibility, e-commerce integrations (Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, TradeMe), and customer portal access.
Completed our second purpose-built facility at Drury, South Auckland — 16,000m² with CCA bonded warehouse licence, high-tonne forklift fleet, MPI inspection bay, and HSNO hazmat storage.
Freight Direct is owner-operated. The people who started it still run it \u2014 which means decisions get made fast and accountability sits at the top.
Founder & Managing Director
Rahul founded Freight Direct in 2006 after three decades in international logistics. He built the business on a single principle: own the whole job. Under his leadership, Freight Direct has grown from a two-person customs brokerage to a full-service logistics provider with four NZ locations and 30,000m² of warehouse space.
Director — Finance & Human Resources
Mayura is a Director of Freight Direct, overseeing finance and human resources across all four locations. She manages financial controls, compliance reporting, and the people operations that keep a 24/7 logistics business running — from payroll to recruitment to team development.
International Freight Operations Manager
Natasha has been with Freight Direct since 2007, making her one of the longest-serving members of the team. She manages international freight operations end-to-end — from origin coordination and carrier bookings to customs documentation and delivery. Her experience spans air, sea, and cross-border freight across all major trade lanes.
Warehouse Manager — Drury
Mike runs day-to-day warehouse operations at our Drury facility — Freight Direct’s largest site at 16,000m². He leads the team handling container devanning, MPI inspections, high-tonne forklift operations, and bonded storage. His team maintains our 99.8% pick accuracy rate.
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Head Office & 3PL Fulfilment Hub
Our accreditations are not decorative. Each one represents a specific capability — a type of cargo we can legally and competently handle that an unlicensed provider cannot.
Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Federation of NZ
Industry body membership for NZ customs brokers and freight forwarders. Represents our compliance with New Zealand-specific customs brokerage standards and trade practice.
Ministry for Primary Industries
Our Drury facility is MPI-approved for biosecurity inspections of import containers. Allows on-site MPI examination, treatment coordination, and export certification for regulated commodities.
NZ Customs Service (NZCS)
CCA licence for our Drury warehouse. Allows us to receive and store dutiable goods in bond without duty being payable until release. Critical for importers managing duty cashflow.
NZ Transport Agency
NZTA operator licence for domestic heavy freight. Covers our linehaul operations between Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, and oversize/over-mass permit applications.
International Federation of Freight Forwarders
MPI Transitional Facility approval allows Freight Direct to receive and inspect imported goods on-site at our Drury facility, avoiding costly and time-consuming transport to government examination stations.
WorkSafe NZ / EPA
Approved hazardous substances storage at Drury under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. Covers HSNO-classified goods including chemicals, flammables, and agricultural inputs.