Advance clearing is crucial to avoid border delays

The increase in fuel prices and the
increase in the cost of road permits
and cross-border permits have
challenged the transport industry
this year, says Julie Langlois,
marketing director of Linked
Logistics.
“This affects the cost of transport
offered to clients and the overall
cross-border road transport sector.
The strong rand is also making
South Africa a more expensive
country to buy from which could
negatively affect the export
market,” she adds.
When it comes to consolidations,
Langlois urges importers to ensure
that their duty payments and
clearing are done in advance of
trucks leaving for the border.
“Zimbabwean clearing agents
will sometimes give loading
authority before they have all their
documentation in order and this
will delay the cargo being sent
to all of the importers that have
consignments on the trucks. Often
Zimbabwean companies will try
to opt for a dedicated small truck
load, however the costs of sending
a smaller truck are still high and
often the benefit of time saved does
not warrant the additional costs.”
Langlois says business has
slowed down over the past five
months. “We have noticed that
certain companies and industries
do not seem to be as busy. This
is in line with the usual trends in
the industry. But based on past
experience we expect business to
slowly start picking up from now
till year-end,” she says.