hile express
airfreight
remains
a small
percentage of the freight and
logistics sector locally, it is
a potentially burgeoning
market with healthy future
growth prospects especially
for the SADC region,
according to industry
leaders.
However, some analysts
have cautioned that a
major challenge for express
airfreight operators in
South Africa will be to
remain price-competitive to
encourage users to switch
from slower but cheaper
road-based services.
According to the South
African Express Parcel
Association, which
represents more than 100
local operators, including all
the global players, China is
still the fastest-growing user
of express logistics, although
its economic growth rate is
no longer in double digits.
“The continent of Africa
is growing faster than the
European Union, meaning
that regional opportunities
should mushroom,” Garry
Marshall, Saepa CEO told
FTW.
Marshall said
m-commerce (purchase by
cellphone) was one of the
next big anticipated growth
areas for the express freight
sector.
“We’re seeing
m-commerce gaining
ground much as e-commerce
did earlier. M-commerce
sales in the US topped $10
billion in the first half of
2013. It is expected that
m-commerce will account
for 25% of all online sales by
2017,” he said.
SA country manager for
ATC Aviation, Gerd Von
Mansberg, said express
courier growth had levelled
out in Europe but the sector
was growing in Africa,
albeit from a lower base.
“The volumes to
Windhoek are really
growing and we are
certainly seeing steady
growth into Africa.
The smaller countries
are developing and
more tenders are being
written,” Von
Mansberg said.
Express
airfreight to
Zimbabwe,
Tanzania,
Egypt, Nigeria
and Zambia
have also
experienced
growth, he said.
This is mainly
being seeing in
pharmaceuticals,
specialist
pharmaceuticals
such as vaccines
for humans
and animals
and chronic
medication, in
the delivery of
tenders and
other documents as well as
ore samples for the mining
sector. He added that SA
supermarkets that had
expanded into the
continent also
used express
airfreight for
emergency
deliveries of
perishable
foods such as
yoghurt and
caviar.
However, Hannah
Edinger, a director of the
emerging market investment
research and strategy firm
Frontier Advisory, said that
locally airfreight contributed
only a fraction to the overall
freight and logistics sector
when measured in tonnage.
“While there are some
reporting challenges, Acsa
estimates that the total
airfreight market in South
Africa stands at about
400 000 tonnes per year.
The airfreight industry
in South Africa in turn is
valued at US$50 million.
Key players include the likes
of SAA Cargo, Bid Air Cargo
and Imperial Air Cargo,”
Edinger
said.
INSERT & CAPTION 1
The continent of
Africa is growing
faster than the
European Union,
meaning that regional
opportunities should
mushroom.
– Garry Marshall
INSERT & CAPTION 2
Express courier
growth has levelled
out in Europe but the
sector is growing in
Africa, albeit from a
lower base.
– Gerd von Mansberg
