There appear to be mixed messages about delays for trucks at Durban Port with the Durban Harbour Carriers’ Association (DHCA) reporting a more fluid flow while some transporters are still complaining of delays of up to 14 hours. DHCA chairperson Sue Moodley said Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) and Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) had been working closely with the transport industry and had improved services to the point that there had been no major delays in recent weeks. “Previously the congestion would have been ten to 20 hours and we are getting information showing that no truck is standing for more than four or six hours,” Moodley said. Transnet had worked in close consultation in regular meetings with the industry to improve services and was also making time concessions when there were any delays at Pier 1, she added. “We are working at a higher level with TNPA and speaking to the terminal managers on the ground who are making themselves available to attend meetings,” she said. However, Durban transporter Kerwin Naidoo of Transgroup said port delays remained a “disaster” for his firm which was experiencing delays of ten to 14 hours. “Our drivers are complaining that the congestion is bad. The port sends out notifications to say things are flowing but that is what’s going on inside the port – the emphasis is not on what’s happening outside the port where trucks are standing. It’s a daily thing,” Naidoo said. “It impacts us in terms of cost because drivers are idling at the port and we are paying overtime – and there is also the cost associated with your truck standing. And when you don’t make it inside on time, port costs go up, averaging R2000 a day for port storage,” Naidoo said. “They don’t really care about how small businesses are impacted.” Naidoo said there were no ablution or take-away facilities for drivers, leading to driver fatigue and raising the risk of road accidents. He said his company used a combination of booked and non-booked truck slots on Transnet’s truck booking system. Another Durban transporter who spoke to FTW on condition of anonymity said port congestion was “ongoing”. “We may have an erratic good day from time to time but all in all it is congestion amounting to huge delays for our vehicles. On a really bad day you can stay six to 14 hours at the port from gate in to gate out because they are handling huge volumes and several vehicles at the same time – and they don’t have adequate resources. It compromises our business, we lose productivity and it equates to losses – the overtime is killing us,” he said. The firm was paying 30-50% of its wage bill towards overtime due to port delays, he added. “They talk about bringing in new straddle carriers and machinery to put more resources to service the landside but we know the main paying clients are the shipping lines so that’s their priority.” A Durban clearing and forwarding agent who also spoke on condition of anonymity said customers could not understand port delays. “We as clearing agents are branded as inefficient and the question is put to us – what are you as freight agents doing about it? But there is nothing we can do,” he said. Durban transporter and former DHCA chairperson Kevin Martin said port congestion had improved markedly since the lows of 20 months ago when 18 to 36 hour delays had been experienced. He said transporters had worked closely with Transnet which should be credited for reducing delays to between four, eight and 12 hours. Gate moves of 3200 and 3400 per 24 hours had been recorded when trucks were being turned around in 60 minutes during one weekend in early January, he added “We had phenomenal figures and then (later) in the week it started slowing down again. There are problems. We are not out of the woods yet. When it’s windy there are delays at Pier 1 and Pier 2 can have good runs and slow downs. We are only going to see the successes once the citrus season starts up,” he said. Martin said Transnet’s truck booking system was not perfect but it was working and vehicles that booked slots were being turned around efficiently within three hours. Transnet had not responded to questions at the time of going to print on Monday.
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We are only going to see the successes once the citrus season starts up. – Kevin Martin
