Eskom adds to railfreight woes

SOUTH AFRICA’S electricity crisis has powered up demand for roadfreight services as load shedding takes its toll on rail cargo. “Transnet Freight Rail uses electric locomotives in the yards and containers have to sit and wait for the power to come back on,” says Bheem Rajpal, CEO of Gauteng-based clearing and forwarding agents DJM Global Logistics. DJM often deals with time-sensitive cargoes that cannot sustain congestion-related delays as a result of load shedding. “At least with road you just need to keep diesel in the tank to deliver the cargo. But even this is becoming a challenge with the price of fuel at current levels.” April 2 saw the wholesale price of diesel with a 0.05% sulphur content jump R1.28 per litre. DJM offers the full spectrum of clearing and forwarding services and is heavily reliant on effective communication for its business. “When the power is out, business doesn’t stop. We are often forced to rely on our cell phones to keep the lines of communication open with customers across the border, which is not cheap. “We currently handle a 40-60 airfreight-seafreight ratio, with good volumes bound for Zambia and the DRC,” says Rajpal. “We mainly service the local market, but cross-border will continue to be part of our planning. Don’t count out Zimbabwe either