Northline Chief Executive Officer Craige Whitton said he expected that stronger demand evident in the latter part of 2009 would continue through the New Year. “In 2010, some customers will use the improved business environment to review their operations and extract extra value from expenditure,” he said.

“The downturn caused by the Global Financial Crisis meant that companies constrained their expenditure during the past year. Although cashflows will improve in 2010, they will still want to make every dollar work for their business – perhaps fearing a second wave of financial disruption.

“I think this cautious optimism has a lot of upside for Northline. We expect a number of our customers to review their levels of inventory and to examine whether to outsource logistics associated with their warehouse operations. We used 2009 to make sure Northline is well-positioned to meet that need.”

Northline is an Australian logistics company that specialises in servicing remote locations throughout the country. The privately-owned business, which employs more than 400 people, provides freight, warehousing, international freight services and undertakes special projects throughout Australia.

Since 2006, Northline has invested heavily in developing a national network of state-of-the-art distribution centres that provide the logistic support for its long-haul freight operations.

Mr. Whitton said the company was currently deploying a major RF (Radio Frequency) scanning system. ““These strategic investments continue to pay off as customers increasingly outsource their warehousing and logistics to Northline,” he said. “Our technology gives customers optimal visibility into our distribution centres, so they can track and manage their inventory with the same convenience as if it was in their own facility.”

Mr. Whitton said Northline had upgraded parts of its national freight network during the past year. “After our best-ever first half year, we saw activity flatten off as concern caused by the Global Financial Crisis began to constrain demand,” he said.

“However, we have used this period to review some of our operational infrastructure, such as moving from an ageing depot in Brisbane to a new state-of-the-art facility at Pinkenba, near the airport. We also opened a branch in Broome to better support our customers in North West Australia.”

Mr. Whitton said Northline’s presence in Broome and quarter century of long-haul freight experience positioned the company well to win business from the major energy projects in northern Australia.

“I think that as the capital expenditure starts to flow again and more major projects take off, there will be significant improvements for us,” he said. “WA was a real bright spot for us in 2009. It has held up during the economic downturn and there are great opportunities there for Northline.”

To learn more about Northline, visit www.northline.com.au.

Northline PR for media assistance

For media assistance and photographs, call John Harris at Impress Media Australia on 08 8431 4000 or email jharris@impress.com.au.