Nissan gives Maputo the thumbs-up

Nissan South Africa’s trial run using
the Port of Maputo for its imports and
exports is proving successful.
According to Delsarie Landman, a
senior logistics engineer with Nissan SA,
the first consignment of vehicle imports
was delivered via the Maputo port just
over a week ago. “We are now planning
the first trial of a containerised import
and once that is completed to satisfaction
Nissan will be using the Port of Maputo
as its third harbour.”
The Gauteng-based company imports
around 97 containers a week via Port
Elizabeth which is 1200km by rail and 88
containers a week from Durban, which
is around 800km. “The decision to use
Maputo is based on a distance reduction
of about 200km compared to Durban and
will see us reducing our lead time and
logistical costs per container by 18% for
Durban and 25% for Port Elizabeth.”
Landman said since the company
could not stop the manufacturing plant,
the need for an efficient, low-cost
provider for imports was imperative.
“We believe Maputo port
offers this.”
Landman said Maputo would be
included in all future negotiations.