Imports from East continue to dominate.

Despite the tighter economic climate, groupage operator CFR Freight recorded positive results last year and the signs for this year are looking more promising, says managing director Martin Keck. “During the recession we had to turn around more cargo to achieve the same results – but while many of our customers saw a decline of up to 30%, our volumes remained relatively stable,” he told FTW. The industry is however not without its challenges, not least of these the ongoing issue of ‘kickbacks’ particularly on the routes from China and India. “The growing number of incentives as well as other surcharges from the East, particularly China, is a concern,” says Keck. “And the issue will deteriorate should our local currency lose value against the US dollar.” Of equal concern is the fact that groupage operators across the globe seem to be struggling to pass on third party rate increases – whether these are freight or local landside costs. “In particular, operators who apply mixed calculations because they carry cargo for direct customers as well as for freight forwarders are willing to apply extremely low rates. “As CFR Freight we have always stuck to our strict neutrality. When the market considers price only it is always at the risk of trading this neutrality,” says director, Peter Schmidt-Löffler. And as the company looks forward with optimism to the year ahead, imports from the East – and China in particular – continue to dominate. “The UK has bounced back after a rather depressed year, as has Japan,” says Schmidt-Loffler. “Both those economies seem to have been most severely affected by the recession and it’s good to see them picking up again.” CFR has for some time offered global coverage for its sea freight customers. “We will however continue to look at putting new direct services in place whenever viable,” said Schmidt-Loffler. The company has also focused strongly on growing its airfreight product over the past year and is seeing very promising developments on that score. “Imports from the USA, Europe and China have grown significantly while exports are picking up nicely as well.” In a move that adds value for its sea freight customer base, the company has opened its own pack/unpack depot in Cape Town – Zacpak Cape Town Depot.