‘Biggest problem is finding the space’ – Leo

Warehouses in Johannesburg
and Durban have been
inundated with cargo in
the past year with very
little under-utilised space,
according to South Africa’s
freight forwarders.
Warren Jayes of Leo
Shipping Services told FTW:
“The main problem the
company encountered last
year with space was the large
increase in cotton tonnages
from up north which all
moved into South Africa
during the same period, not
only for Leo Shipping, but
for many others as well.
“This, coupled with a
drop in cotton prices in this
period, slowed down exports
of the product with the result
that space in the warehouses
did not turn over as fast as
would be desired.”
He said there were
many other warehouses in
Johannesburg that handled
minerals which were not
suitable for storing next
to cotton for reasons of
cleanliness. This reduced
the number of suitable
warehouses for handling this
product.
“Unfortunately this is a
warehousing risk,” he said.
Jayes is hoping to see a
repeat of similar volumes
for 2012, but the biggest
challenge Leo Shipping faced
last year was keeping up
with demand for available
warehouse space.
The company doesn’t own
its own warehouses, but
rents space and offers clients
warehousing facilities in
Johannesburg and Durban at
Grindrod Warehouse, where
its offices are based.
Together with Grindrod,
which controls all of the
warehouse operations,
Leo Shipping moves large
tonnages of breakbulk cargo
into warehouses for storage
and container stuffing and
for movement to Durban
port by road or rail for vessel
stacks.
The company also
unpacks imported cargo for
movement in bond to African
landlocked countries.