Rush hour

The year 2025 proved to be a trying time for Australia’s transport industry. Many challenges forced businesses against the wall, even pushing some into administration.

Scully RSV proved that in the face of challenge, it not only stays afloat but grows. The refrigerated transport solutions provider spent 2025 capitalising on previous interstate expansions while also developing its key cold chain offering for an enlarging customer base.

“Last year was an extraordinarily busy 12 months for Scully RSV,” says Scully RSV National Sales and Business Development Manager, Glenn Smith. “We grew our regional markets in South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.

“Meanwhile, our rental business skyrocketed. More of our customers chose to be conservative. They saw our rental options as less risky and more flexible due to operating costs increasing quite rapidly.”

These successes resulted in a consistently higher fleet utilisation rate for Scully RSV throughout 2025 which, Glenn explains, proved vital for supporting the busy holiday rush at the end of the year.

“Our fleet utilisation remained high, even through the cooler months which have traditionally been our slow periods,” he says. “This sustained demand continued into the back end of the year, and we saw the typical peak season start earlier than usual.

“We were seeing activity related to peak volumes starting in early September. So, not only did the season start sooner, but it was also much stronger than in the last two or three years.”

Despite the timing and volume of last Christmas’ demand being unprecedented, Scully RSV approached it on a ‘business as usual’ basis.

“We always prepare to have our entire fleet ‘fire engine ready’ for the end of each year,” Glenn says. “We know that retail in particular experiences an enormous increase in volume over the peak period, and it is customers who support the retail sector that mainly come to us for additional capacity during this time.

“We do a lot of work through winter to get our equipment serviced, maintained and ready to go for these customers. This was admittedly a bit harder in 2025 since our fleet utilisation cut into the wintertime, but we got it done. We always do.”

This was not only achieved by hard work from the team, but also by leveraging resources and knowledge gained from recent expansion.

“We experienced the peak seasons in our SA, WA and Tasmanian markets for the first time in 2024,” Glenn says. “We received great indicators for what to expect in those areas moving forward, and how to best prepare. So, when the peak period rolled around in 2025, we knew how to proceed.

“We also made some strategic trailer acquisitions last year and grew our fleet in time for the Christmas season. We were able to put more vehicles on the road for the 2025 peak period than ever before.”

With demand being evenly spread across the country for Scully RSV, the specific needs of the market differed greatly. Seasonality played a big role, as the weather conditions between certain states yielded various produce.

“Our freight is almost exclusively food, but this differs depending on where we’re operating,” Glenn explains. “In Far North Queensland, for example, our customers are moving massive amounts of products like bananas, mangoes and strawberries. A lot of these traditional fruits come into harvest at this time. They’re going straight into supermarkets, many of which are big customers of ours. But that freight is not the same everywhere.”

Scully RSV’s success during the festive season also extended into its various charitable partnerships. The company strengthened its relationship with This is a Conversation Starter (TIACS) – a mental health not-for-profit organisation focused on the blue-collar sectors in logistics, construction and farming – via event sponsorships and specially wrapped vehicles.

Furthermore, Scully RSV grew its relationship with food rescue organisation, OzHarvest, with the delivery of a custom rigid body to a key area.

“We put a vehicle into Darwin, Northern Territory, for the first time,” Glenn reveals. “It’s a branded OzHarvest Toyota Hilux application that is now fully supported by us.

“We really wanted to boost OzHarvest’s charity capacity during Christmas in particular. There’s a population in Darwin which really needs support with accessing food, so it was important for us to have a vehicle ready for OzHarvest so that the community could be adequately serviced during the festive season.”

Now on the other side of the gauntlet that was 2025’s holiday rush, Scully RSV is ready to take on 2026 with a healthy mix of caution and growth.

“We’re looking at strategically growing our fleet to continue the rental market expansion,” Glenn says. “We know we’re in a tough market, so we’re approaching it carefully. We’re very excited to see what’s in store.”