Freight Rail, Research & Development, Technology and IT

KiwiRail providing live data for GDP tracking platform

New Zealand operator KiwiRail says real-time reporting on freight volumes and movements will inform a live economic growth tracker being launched by Massey University.

KiwiRail says it will be providing the data to GDPLive, a tracking system launched on December 17 by the university.

KiwiRail Group general manager for sales and commercial, Alan Piper, said the operator moves 18 million tonnes of freight each year, representing roughly 16 per cent of the country’s freight task.

“As a critical part of New Zealand’s freight transport network, KiwiRail is able to provide data that helps provide a picture of how our economy is performing,” Piper said.

“We transport around 25% of New Zealand’s exports so we’re a vital part of the bigger picture being presented by this initiative, which is thought to be the first of its kind in the world.”

The GDPLive system is designed to use machine-learning algorithms and live data sources, to give the user an estimate of how the economy is performing on a daily basis.

Users can view historic data, current national and regional GDP figures and forecasts, as well as getting an overview of the performance of a large range of industry sectors.

Along with KiwiRail, the platform is being informed by payment transaction data, container movements through Ports of Auckland and Ports of Tauranga, traffic flows, immigration and import/export data.