Bad weather mars Transnet's productivity

While Transnet has seen an increase in container volumes and operational efficiency for rail over the past six months - as well as a 9.4% increase in port container volume for the same period - there have been mixed results in terms of productivity. Speaking at the official announcement of Transnet’s interim results for the period March 1, 2013 to September 30, 2013, group chief executive Brian Molefe attributed the growth in port container volumes to an increase in transhipment containers but cautioned that the Eurozone and the depressed local economy was still having a negative impact on the import and export container sectors. Furthermore, while productivity has improved at Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) and Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 1, DCT Pier 2 and Ngqura Container Terminal efficiency was negatively impacted by what Molefe terms “unprecedented” bad weather conditions. DCT Pier 2’s performance was further hampered by the installation of the ZPMC tandem lift ship-toshore (STS) cranes. “It was basically a construction site for several months,” Molefe said, adding that he expected a “big improvement” now that the cranes are operational.