SAFMARINE IS gearing up to meet the increasing demand for containers by investing in new hardware, says the line’s automotive account manager, Dave Kirkman. “Containers are often preferred by local and international OEMs entering new and niche markets because they offer several cost and quality advantages over car carriers,” he says. “Illustrating this trend is the growing number of auto manufacturers from India and China who have identified South Africa as a new market and who are using containers for their auto-related exports,” he added. “These shippers see great benefit in using containers to ship anything from one to four cars in a high-cube 40 foot box. Furthermore, liner shipping services tend to offer faster transit times and weekly frequencies when compared to ro-ro services,” he says. Kirkman believes containers are also being favoured by OEMs exporting to the USA under the Agoa bi-lateral trade agreement. “Agoa has made exports to the USA – as opposed to Europe – a viable option for several SA-based OEMs,” says Kirkman
