Wide port range caters for growing Americas trade

As the year draws to a close,
neutral consolidator CFR
Freight can reflect on better
than expected results from
both its air and seafreight
divisions – and the Americas
trades have contributed
significantly to these figures.
With the weaker dollar
playing into the hands of
South African importers,
groupage volumes from the
US are encouraging, says
CFR Freight director Peter
Schmidt-Löffler.
While New York will
always be the main hub for
imports and exports from
and to South Africa, CFR
also offers direct weekly
services out of Chicago to
its seafreight customers.
CFR’s New York service
provides direct sailings to
all ports, including the likes
of Port Elizabeth. Direct
export services to New York
are offered from Durban,
Cape Town as well as Port
Elizabeth.
For the airfreight division,
the US has always been
a strong contender, with
the company reaping the
dividends of its recently
introduced new US tariff.
“We’re offering reduced
rates and named day consol
services out of Los Angeles,
New York, Chicago and
Atlanta,” said general
manager – airfreight,
David Graham. With the
Air Cargo Group network,
an association of neutral
airfreight consolidators and
wholesalers, CFR can offer
a door-to-door service to
freight forwarders who do
not have a global footprint.
Recent initiatives like the
proactive tracking system
Airtrak and online tariff
engine have been well
received by the company’s
airfreight client base, he said.
And as the world’s focus
turns to the growing South
American market, with
agreements like Mercosur
(the Common Market of the
South) and BRIC (Brazil,
Russia, India, China) adding
impetus to growth, CFR
Freight is well placed to
serve the market.
From a seafreight
perspective, the entire
subcontinent is served
through Buenos Aires –
and thanks to the strength
of the company’s World
Wide Alliance partner
in the region, the market
is showing encouraging
growth, says Schmidt-
Löffler.
A regular direct service
is on offer to Argentina,
with transhipment to
other destinations. For
imports Argentina offers
a fortnightly service into
Durban along with the well
established weekly services
from Santos/Brazil into both
Durban and Port Elizabeth.
In another milestone
for CFR’s ongoing clientfocused
IT development, this
week sees the launch of a
new website.
“It incorporates a ‘client
zone’ which enables the
customer to access all
information related to
shipments, documentation
and tariffs from his or her
computer at the touch of
a button,” says Schmidt-
Löffler.