‘Lack-lustre year for volumes’

The SA-Far East trade
is not a moneymaker,
according
to Glenn Delve,
marketing director of MSC.
“Freight levels this year
have been quite poor,” he told
FTW.
Even eastbound (export
trade), which has picked
up with China’s almost
insatiable demand for
mineral raw materials, and
which has also been perked
up in other export categories
because of the low rand
exchange rate, didn’t meet
up with any enthusiasm
from Delve. “Also quite poor
really,” he said.
He did admit that the
rather unexciting pre-
Christmas peak season this
year had brought things
up to a “fair” level. But,
although international
economic conditions have
begun to pick up from the
recession of the last two
years, he was loath to talk
about any sort of boom in
2014.
“I don’t know what it will
be like after the Chinese
New Year (February),” he
added. “But at least they (the
Chinese) will always need
commodities.”