General Overview
Trade Surplus up – The month got off to a good start as SARS published its most recent “Merchandise Trade Statistics” for the month of June, indicating a preliminary R24,2 billion trade surplus in the headline.
As of June, the YTD trade surplus was R68,4 billion, a considerable improvement above the R14,4 billion trade surplus noted in 2023.
Relief for online retailers – There was also good news for online shoppers as SARS decided to hold off on applying a 45% import tariff on clothing products, for now.
Electric buses for mother city – Cape Town’s Golden Arrow Bus Services is looking to include 120 electric buses in its fleet. This follows a successful trial with four vehicles.
China’s share – It was reported that China’s share of the world’s containerized trade increased to 41,3% in 2023.
Rates dropping – Container rates dropped steadily throughout the month of August, ending on $5 319 per 40-foot container.
Global Shipping
Reliability woes – As we enter the final Quarter of 2024, schedule reliability is still ranging between 50% and 55%, with late arrivals averaging at just over 5 days.
The Red Sea issue continues to cause substantial delays and difficulty for shippers, and the attack on a Greek-flagged oil tanker dashes hopes for a resolution to the ongoing problem.
Numbers are up – A mid-year review revealed that annual year-on-year container throughput has seen a significant increase of 6,3%. This is down to a recovery in the demand for sophisticated goods globally.
Increased exports – In June, yearly trade exports from the Sub-Saharan African region increased by around 11,9%, but annual trade for imports fell by about 5%.
Effects of Red Sea problems – Carriers of Liquefied Natural Gas and Liquified Petroleum Gas are possibly the worst affected by the Red Sea crisis. Since the beginning of 2024, there have only been 10 passing through the Suez Canal, as opposed to thirty to forty crossings per week.
International Air
Volumes up – As we reach the middle of 2024, industry volumes are still significantly higher than last year (up 8% against July 2023) but remain slightly down from pre-pandemic levels.
The increased global air cargo volumes are being attributed to limitations on maritime shipping and the expansion of e-commerce.
In August, IATA reported double-digit increases in worldwide air cargo demand for the sixth consecutive month indicating significant annual growth in this sector.
Preliminary data for July from the World Air Cargo Demand, which provides more frequent statistics, indicates that worldwide air cargo tonnages and rates rose by about 12% year over year.
Record for ORTIA – In mid-August, O.R. Tambo International Airport reported increased volumes reaching the milestone of handling more than one ton per day on average. Cape Town and Durban also posted record volumes.
Are drones the future? – The airfreight industry is getting a glimpse of the future as Sichuan Tengden Scitech Innovation’s twin-engine drone is helping China build a “low-altitude economy”. This drone’s wingspan is 16,1 meters, with a record-breaking cargo capacity of two tons.
A temporary dip – At the end of the month, bad weather and public holidays accounted for volumes dropping in the last week of August.
Port Operations
Slots gone in minutes – Transnet Port Terminals have expressed concern that people may be utilising Artificial Intelligence to access the system and reserve specific seats. This follows an incident when almost 300 Port of Durban slots were taken in less than two minutes on one day at the beginning of the month.
Regular challenges – As usual, the main factors limiting port operations in South Africa were bad weather, equipment failures, and computer system issues.
Booking system trial – August saw Transnet Ports Terminal and business partners implementing a two-week trial of an alternate booking system at the terminal in other parts of Durban. A 48-hour slot allocation will be available through the system, with 12-hourly reviews at 06:30 and 18:30. Slot additions, however, are not certain.
Relief for Richards Bay – The newly constructed staging area at the Port of Richards Bay appears to be helping to control the number of vehicles that travel the routes to the port.
Durban congestion reduced – The Port of Durban managed to reduce congestion at the end of August.
Despite the usual challenges, the queue-to-berth ratio was a favourable 0.39, an indication that there was
more capacity at berth than on anchorage.
New tugs for Durban – The five new tugs that will be stationed in the port of Durban were formally christened and after the necessary crew training is finished, the tugs will be put into service.
Local and Cross-Border
Crossing times remain high – August began with border crossing times dropping on average, by 1.5 hours, but time spent at borders still averaged 10.8 hours.
Lebombo delays – Scanner malfunctions at Lebombo resulted in a 47km queue, and there are now discussions around creating three entry and exit lanes to avoid long delays.
New regulations – Road transport woes continued through the month. August 10 saw the introduction of tariffs and fees being levied by ZIMRA on all shipments of fuels which should be refunded at the exit port.
Three-day closure – Mid-August also saw the Zambia and DRC’s Copperbelt borders closed for three days due to trade disputes.
DRC close unpopular lot – The parking lot next to the Likasi by-pass in the DRC has been closed. This follows complaints by drivers who were being charged $10 for each trip without receiving receipts. FESARTA engaged with the DRC Chamber of Commerce and the area—which was only an open parcel of land with a container serving as an office—was shut down.