Car carriers keep calling – despite slowdown

Lower vehicle exports and imports
have not yet translated into fewer
calls on South Africa by car
carriers.
According to the Transnet
National Ports Authority statistics
for January 2009, 29 vehicle
carriers called on Durban in
January this year – up from 24 in
the same month last year.
The trend is different down
the coast – for East London,
the figures are seven for 2009,
compared to 9 in 2008, and
Port Elizabeth also saw seven
car carriers in January this year,
compared to 10 in 2008.
Overall, there were 44 calls by
car carriers in January this year –
one better than the 43 in 2008.
More telling are the import
figures for Port Elizabeth
(28 374 tons in 2009 compared
to 62 470 tons in 2008). A large
percentage of Port Elizabeth
imports are components for the
auto industry.
For Durban, the figures are
1 602 408 tons this year compared
to 2 842 196 tons in 2008.
Durban serves both Toyota
South Africa and the Gauteng
industry.
East London saw a massive
drop from 116 862 tons to 51 463
this year.
Gross tonnage of exports
through Durban went from
595 158 tons to 432 922 tons;
in East London from 26 711 to
10 187 tons; and Port Elizabeth
358 266 to 86 978.
There is no break-down of
the automotive component, but
demand has been affected by the
falling car sales elsewhere in the
world National Association of
Automotive Component and Allied
Manufacturers (Naacam) executive
director Roger Pitot is calling for
what is effectively a R10-billion
loan to the components industry.