Competitive option on Far East-CT route

Volumes from the Far East continue to grow with the annual December peak season already showing a 20% increase on last year’s volumes. In fact, the peak season has yet to come to an end, says World Groupage Services (WGS) managing director Claude Nuttall. “The so-called December peak season has extended itself and continued into January and February – we have not seen volumes drop especially from the Far East.” The Cape Town based groupage operator that specialises in the Far East last year concluded an agency agreement with Macnels in Singapore, a decision that has paid off well as the Far East continues to gain momentum. “Macnels is one of the biggest NVOCCs operating from over 11 countries in South East Asia and has been established on the South African route for many years,” says Nuttall. With Macnels operating its own groupage containers from all over South East Asia to Singapore for onward movement to Cape Town, the company is able to offer competitive rates, says Nuttall. “We believe our LCL service is one of the fastest in the market as we route all cargo via Singapore for direct weekly consolidation to Cape Town with no transhipments.” According to Nuttall, transhipping in Durban translates into slower transit times for Cape Town importers. “From port of load in South East Asia we fast track cargo to the Macnels ‘express hub’ in Singapore for direct consolidation to Cape Town.” And as the quality of products from the Far East continues to improve it is a route that will continue to grow, says Nuttall. “It has become very competitive. Currently there is a massive demand for containers from the Far East – an indication of the importance of the route.”