Commodity slump puts on pressure

The slump in commodity business has
put major pressure on SADC Freight’s
Johannesburg operation where expansion
opportunities have been on the radar screen.
“There is some land available but with
the slump that’s hit the mining industry
we’re putting it on hold for now,” said MD
Graham Peinke.
The Johannesburg branch has played
a big role in the export of mineral
concentrates out of the DRC and copper out
of Zambia – it’s been used as a major hub
for exports coming out of Africa, but the
slump in demand from China in particular
has seen most players adopting a wait and
see attitude.
According to Peinke, business until now
has performed extremely well. “But to the
end of the year we anticipate there will be
pressure on margins and our revenue will
come under pressure because our cost base
is relatively high.