Celtic containers help customers save money

Zambia specialist Celtic Freight has gone the extra mile to help its customers avoid the costs of hiring or purchasing export boxes The company has invested heavily in its own container fleet, providing free use of its boxes to shippers moving cargo into Zambia. “There are no depot fees, deposits, hire charges or return charges involved,” said Celtic’s Adrian Friend. “At the same time we can collect within the Durban or Johannesburg area for container loads – also at no cost – which makes the entire process much more cost- effective.” The shortage of containers – and concomitant costs – is the result of the demise of traditional export markets to Zimbabwe in recent years, Friend explained. In the past, shipping lines needed to have their containers available in Zimbabwe to cater for the export market. “This meant one could make use of this container cabotage and use the container for cargo to both Zimbabwe and Zambia, and ultimately the transporter would turn the empty container into Harare’s depot.” But, said Friend, the demise of these traditional export markets impacted drastically on cargo destined for Zambia as containers suddenly had to be hired or purchased resulting in a significant increase in cost. “Along with that came the relevant problems of the return of the hire container, the condition of the container and the risk involved in being responsible for the container,” he told FTW. In an effort to address this situation and in line with the company strategy to be the “container mover” for cargo in Zambia, Celtic Freight started investing heavily in its own container fleet. “Not only have we built up a container fleet, we have also made sure that we have the infrastructure to handle such volumes of containers at our depots in Lusaka in Zambia and Johannesburg and Durban in South Africa.” In Zambia the company operates container handling equipment that can place the full container at the client’s premises for offloading while two side shifters ensure that project cargo can be serviced effectively. He said while containers were limited, the service was fast growing which would allow the company to increase its number of containers. “It is proving to be a more cost-effective way for many shippers to move their cargo into Zambia.” CAPTION Adrian Friend ... Investment in container fleet translates into savings for customers.