Company closures signal dire economic climate

The pressure on freight and
logistics operators in South
Africa has never been
greater.
From March last year to
February this year a total of
410 companies registered
with the Bargaining
Council closed their doors
leaving
2 648
people
without
jobs, said
Sharmini
Naidoo,
CEO of
the Road
Freight Association (RFA).
Opening the annual
RFA conference in the
Drakensberg recently,
she said new regulations
and policies continued to
impact significantly on
hauliers responsible for the
movement of the bulk of
South Africa’s cargo.
“There is still a
constant struggle with the
authorities to understand
the impact of regulations
introduced to ‘control’ the
industry,” said Naidoo.
Government’s proposed
truck ban in peak hours
was a case in point, she
added.
“Amidst the political
chaos and economic
uncertainty the industry
has to face the added
burden of the country’s
junk bond status which
is set to
severely
impact
capitalintensive
industries
like ours.”
According
to Naidoo
freight market share
is determined by the
reliability and efficiency of
the trucking industry.
She said now more
than ever before truck
operators needed to keep
their sparring gloves on as
indications were that it was
going to get worse before it
improved.
“One thing in all of this
remains certain – South
Africa needs trucks and
this industry is here to
stay.”
INSERT
410 
The number of companies that have
closed their doors between March
2016 and February this year.