Floods and road closures delay freight on the Sunshine Coast most wet seasons, and All Freight Carrying handles them the same way every time: we monitor weather events closely, we never put our people in harm’s way, freight is held securely at our Yandina depot when a road is cut, and customers are kept informed until it is safe to travel. This guide covers what the wet season does to the roads we use, what to expect from a consignment caught in it, how to check conditions for yourself and how to prepare.
How does the wet season affect roads on the Sunshine Coast?
Heavy rain cuts roads in three ways, and the Sunshine Coast gets all three. The Bruce Highway, which carries freight between Brisbane, the coast and Gympie, crosses low-lying floodplains and creek systems along its length, and sections of it can close when water comes over the carriageway. When that happens the overnight link between Brisbane and the coast is interrupted, and so is the road north to Gympie and the Cooloola region. Hinterland roads over the ranges around Maleny, Montville, Mapleton and Kenilworth, through the Mary Valley and into the Noosa hinterland are steep, often single-carriageway and lined with cuttings, so prolonged rain brings landslips, fallen trees and washouts as well as flooded low-level crossings. And on the flat country near the coast, flash flooding closes local streets and causeways for a few hours at a time, long enough to stop a van completing its run even when the main roads are open.
Closures can last an hour or several days. A low crossing usually reopens as soon as the water drops; a landslip or a damaged culvert can take much longer, and a road that is open may still be restricted to lighter vehicles. The Queensland road safety message applies to our drivers as much as anyone: if it’s flooded, forget it. A loaded truck does not get to drive through water because it is heavy.
What should I expect from my freight during a flood or road closure?
Expect delay, and expect to be told about it. A consignment that would normally travel overnight may not leave, or may reach Yandina and wait there until the road to its delivery area reopens. On our tracking page it will show as held, which means it is with us but not going out yet. When the road is passable again the freight goes out as soon as it is safe to travel, on the next run for that area. Areas that are served on set days each week rather than every business day, which includes much of the hinterland, the Mary Valley and the islands, depend on both the road and the run, so a closure that falls on a set service day can push a delivery out further than one on the coast.
Our transit times are estimates given in good faith in business days from pickup, and weather and road closures can add to them. Our Conditions of Carriage say the same thing in formal terms: we are not liable for delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including extreme weather, flood and road closures, and we will communicate with affected customers and resume the service as soon as practicable.
How do I check road conditions?
QLDTraffic is the Queensland Government’s road-conditions service, and it is where road closures, flooding and restrictions on the Bruce Highway and the state-controlled hinterland roads are published. It is the quickest way to see whether the road between you and your receiver is open before you ring anyone. The Bureau of Meteorology publishes the flood and severe weather warnings that come before the closures, and local councils run disaster dashboards for the roads they look after. If a road near your receiver is closed, call us on 1300 882 117 and tell us; the office may not yet know about a local street that has gone under.
How can I prepare freight for the wet season?
- Package for water as well as handling. Use double-walled cartons, keep cartons off the ground on a pallet, shrink-wrap right down to the pallet base so rain cannot wick up, and protect anything that cannot get wet in a liner or a bag inside the carton. Our guide to packaging freight covers the rest.
- Put the right contact on the consignment. A mobile number for the person who will actually receive the goods, so the driver or the office can reach them when a run changes. Our futile delivery guide explains why this detail prevents more failed deliveries than any other.
- Tell us about ground conditions. Unsealed driveways, acreage blocks and building sites that are fine in the dry can be impassable for a loaded truck after rain. A note on the booking lets us send the right vehicle or hold the freight a day rather than attempt and fail.
- Build in slack. If a forecast shows a wet week, order stock earlier, keep a buffer of the lines you cannot run out of, and do not plan a job around a delivery landing on the first day of a warning.
- Hold stock on the coast. Businesses that cannot afford to wait on the Bruce Highway keep some stock at our Yandina depot through warehousing and 3PL, so orders go out on the local runs even when the road from Brisbane is cut.
- Be flexible about the day. A delivery that can land a day either side of the plan is one that will not need chasing.
How All Freight Carrying handles it
Our safety and compliance page sets the rule: we monitor weather events closely, never put staff in harm’s way, and keep customers informed during floods, extreme weather and road closures. If a road is cut or an area is unsafe, freight is held securely at the depot and goes out as soon as it is safe to travel. The depot at 48 Central Park Drive, Yandina is alarmed and covered by CCTV, so held freight is not sitting in a yard.
Every consignment is scanned at pickup, into the depot, onto the delivery vehicle and at delivery, and every scan status is checked daily, including held and futile freight. That daily check is what stops a weather delay turning into a forgotten consignment: anything held because of a closure is looked at every day it is held, and goes back onto the next run for its area when the road reopens. If your tracking shows held or futile, call the office and we will tell you exactly what is holding it and arrange the next attempt.
The office is open 8:00am to 4:00pm, Monday to Friday, on 1300 882 117 and at cs@allfreightcarrying.com.au. The team can see every scan on your consignment and can reach the driver on the run. Our Nambour and hinterland and Gympie and Cooloola pages show which areas are served every business day and which run on set days, which is worth knowing before you ring about a hinterland delivery in a wet week.
If you are sending freight into the wet season and want to talk through packaging, timing or holding stock on the coast, request a quote or call 1300 882 117.
Published by All Freight Carrying, Yandina, Sunshine Coast · 1 November 2026 · Last updated 1 November 2026
