Whether you’re moving LCL or FCL cargo, congestion at the Port of Durban is taking its toll.
“In the last quarter of 2017 port congestion had a significant impact on us,” said Douglas Duffy, general manager at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics in Kwazulu-Natal.
“Many shipments bypassed Durban and went to Ngqura. The storm was an issue, but overall, port congestion is an ongoing matter “Over the December period we had customers who missed Christmas orders. I personally think it is total mismanagement of the port by Transnet.” People on the ground have to execute on what he considers good strategies that have been developed. “Unfortunately, the execution is where we fall down.
“Cape Town had a lot of wind-related issues last year, while Port Elizabeth and Ngqura weren’t able cope with the volume of cargo that bypassed Durban. They just weren’t geared for it; they weren’t expecting that many vessels.”
He added that neighbouring ports along the East and West coasts of Africa – through foreign investment – were making large strides in improving their services.
