Marked growth predicted for the next two years

CONTRARY TO popular opinion Iain McCallum, managing director of Spedag, believes the infrastructure in Gauteng has improved significantly over the past 12 months. He adds that with all the new developments taking place, the general infrastructure is constantly being placed under pressure to keep up with expansion. He is very positive about the economic climate in Gauteng at present and says leading up to the 2010 World Cup we will see marked growth across all sectors. As Gauteng is the hub of South Africa’s commerce, all aspects of industry should show growth over the next two years. “If the government can improve on the country’s account deficit (the country’s imports currently outweigh its exports therefore we are struggling to cover the cost of imported goods) then we can look forward to a rosy short-term future. Unfortunately there is a widening account deficit at the moment but this is generally due to huge infrastructure projects related to the 2010 World Cup.” Spedag specialises in all aspects if international shipping including airfreight, seafreight, clearing, forwarding, warehousing, projects and logistics. The company deals extensively with the import and export of a wide variety of products from tyres and garments to vaccines and mining equipment. Most of the freight originates in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal with general cargo destined for the UK and Australia and project cargo for the DRC. The majority of the export cargo is shipped from Durban. According to McCallum, air, road and rail all have their pros and cons depending on the part of the world that they are dealing with and the urgency of the cargo. The biggest challenge currently facing the company in Gauteng is finding sufficient bonded warehousing to accommodate the increase in imported cargo.