Hauliers battle traffic and port congestion

TRAFFIC AND port congestion are two
enemies of swift transport of perishables. But
established transport firms know how to deal
with these delays.
“Our drivers know how to get around the
congestion of peak hours. They offload as early
as 6am and finish by 9am. We deliver all sorts
of goods, a lot of buns, condiments and other
items for fast food outlets like Kentucky and
McDonald’s,” said Colin Bowring, CEO of Kodiak
Shipping in Isando.
Kodiak’s trucks – four of the company’s
fleet of 44 vehicles are reefers dedicated to
the transport of dry or frozen items requiring
refrigeration – encounter no challenges
offloading at the fast food outlets. However,
difficulties can be encountered offloading at the
congested port of Durban.
“We deliver citrus for export. The truck stops
and cold storage facilities are often full, which is
a problem,” said Bowring.
Fortunately, Kodiak Shipping maintains
its own yard at Durban, which permits some
offloading, such as containers.
“We take off what we can, and we apply
pressure to get space cleared for the citrus,” said
Bowring, whose company with its staff of 100
has been in business since 2001.
Armed with tactics to circumvent such
shipping headaches, Kodiak’s goal is annual
growth of 10-15%, which is in line with current
growth for the company.