South Africa’s trucking industry is under extreme pressure, according to Sharmini Naidoo, CEO of the Road Freight Association.
“The industry has been plagued for several years by cost escalation in the form of increased taxes, licences and permits,” she told FTW. “Cost remains a challenge for our operators.”
From a legislative point of view, while the introduction of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Bill, expected to come into effect this year, will have tough consequences for traffic offenders, it will also increase costs involved in dealing with traffic offences.
“Already R180 million has been approved in this year’s transport budget for the Road Traffic Infringement Agency to spend on enterprise development for the Aarto rollout,” said Naidoo.
The lifting of the moratorium on the movement of high cube containers was another concern that would have a massive cost impact on industry, she said. All of this was happening in an environment where the country continued to fall behind its global and African peers.
