The thorny issue involving height limitations in the transportation of high-cube containers on South African roads has once again been brought into sharp focus, this time by Business Unity South Africa (Busa).
Industry and government have been at loggerheads for some time over the ruling - Regulation 224 (b) of the National Road Traffic Act (Act 93 of 1996) – that prohibits the movement of these containers at a height of 4.6m.
High-cube containers constitute the overwhelming majority of containers currently manufactured and transported internationally, including in neighbouring states, Busa argues. The combined height of a vehicle transporting a high-cube container is currently 4.6m – 300mm above the legal limit.
“Despite several years of industry engaging the Department of Transport on the matter, as well as moratoriums being issued, no progress has yet been forthcoming on fundamentally resolving the issue,” said Busa.
This regulatory anomaly puts South Africa’s trade and logistics regime out of step with international and regional realities and undermines the ease of doing business.
“We are therefore calling on the minister of transport to urgently review the applicable regulation to permit the transportation of high-cube containers on South African roads. In view of South Africa’s suboptimal levels of economic growth, investment, and employment, we can ill afford such costly and time-consuming regulation of a sector so critical to the operations of a modern economy.”
And while the contentious regulation became law in the weeks ahead of the Covid-19 outbreak, it has been largely overshadowed by a series of lockdowns.
As it drags on into 2022, it’s ten years since local transporters woke up to the news that carrying globally standardised containers could become a costly headache for South Africa’s road freight sector.