Convenient location comes at a price

IMPORTERS AND exporters are increasingly forced to carry the costs of cross-hauling containers to storage facilities some distance from Durban harbour as facilities in closer proximity are either no longer available or come at a premium. “Demand is especially high in the Bayhead area, and so are the rates,” says Ken Dickson of Rohek Industrial Warehousing, which is conveniently situated close to the port. “In the old days warehousing was seen as a necessary evil, when cargo had to be placed in the ‘store’. Today warehousing is an integral part of the logistics chain.” In order to handle and manage the cargo, IT solutions are essential to keep track and create a paper trail for all cargo moving through the warehouse. “The cost of setting this up has to be recouped from somewhere, which is why the days of cheap warehousing are over,” says Dickson. Careful planning of cargo movements is an integral part of minimising touches, especially when it comes to running FIFO (freight in freight out) operations. “You need access to the cargo without having to move mountains before you can move it.” The company boasts an impressive 30 000m2 warehouse with all loading and offloading taking place under one roof. Rohek targets both import and export cargo in 20- and 40-foot containers which is on the move and doesn’t need to be stored for long periods of time. “We do cross-haul transport, which has become a major problem thanks to congestion at the container terminal, Bayhead road and at Point, with very little light at the end of the tunnel at the moment,” says Dickson.