South Africa has been hugely affected by the reduction in carrier capacity over the past few months. As a result, the country is calling for smart thinking on the part of groupage operators to ensure that cargo keeps moving.Mark Naidoo, trade coordinator of exports at SACO CFR, says that as global cargo demand has increased, carriers have redirected vessels to higher-volume services. This has seen smaller vessels servicing the South African routes. “This has reduced capacity significantly,” he tells Freight News. “Coupled with congestion in local and international port terminals, it has led to some delays in export services, impacting product lead and transit times. “Vessel schedules are erratic and we also see port omissions occurring as shipping lines struggle to maintain vessel schedule integrity, again extending transit times and delaying cargo movement.”On the up side, LCL export volumes from South Africa are increasing, says Naidoo. “As container freight rates continue to rise and capacity remains tight, LCL consolidations provide effective solutions to our exporters as they allow for the frequent movement of smaller consignment stock volumes.”Trade manager Michelle Horner says the past few months have not been easy on exporters. “We have all seen challenges from multiple sectors, impacting local transport, shipping line schedules and capacity, as well as terminal productivity. Things we previously took for granted, such as having a swift and stable export service offering, have been disrupted. “Now, more than ever, it is about providing a competitive advantage to one’s customers in terms of assurances that whatever the challenges, a consolidation solution in air, road or ocean is available – thereby ensuring that South African exporters can continue to offer reliable goods to the global market.”According to national sales manager Nicholas von Flemming, exports are a challenge at present.Horner agrees, saying that with the carrier schedule instability and erratic port rotations, planning export movement out of South Africa can be difficult. “We have dedicated export teams who are keeping track of these schedules and planning export loadings to meet our customers’ needs.”Despite the challenges, however, Von Flemming says the company remains committed to growing export volumes. “Exports are the lifeblood and we have to meet our clients’ needs. There seems to be a distinct appetite from our client base for direct or, at worst, single-transhipment services that our export tariff offers. “Transit time is ever more relevant. Accurate, honest transit time is a valuable commodity nowadays.”According to Naidoo, it is all about delivering added value in the current environment. His outlook for South African exports is optimistic. As the world is changing our exporters are able to provide more goods to a larger global market than ever before. “LCL services are ideally placed to provide access to areas where traditional FCL movement would be difficult or costly.”
