Cross-border volumes are on the increase in the wake of ongoing growth – particularly in the mining sector.According to CFR national sales manager Nic von Flemming, there has been growth in transhipment cargo coming into South Africa destined for inland countries. “We have had a strategic focus on operational excellence which has led to an increase in employment opportunities,” he told Freight News. “We believe there is great potential for cross-trades and using Durban as a gateway into African countries. South Africa remains well placed to capitalise on this growth and grow cross-border volumes.”Equally, said Von Flemming, this would require better performance, particularly at the Port of Durban, improved carrier scheduling, and better cooperation between all stakeholders at the border posts. “Chief amongst those is the required collaboration, or as evidenced recently, lack thereof at Beitbridge. From a CFR perspective, we see the desire from our client base to explore non-traditional networks in sourcing costing solutions for their movement over border as a huge windfall for new business coming on board.”He said congestion and bottlenecks remained a major challenge in cross-border operations. “It comes from a variety of sources.We are working strategically with our partners to improve the communication between South Africa and Zimbabwe. Congestion on the roads and the limited infrastructure supporting these delays has exacerbated the situation.” Von Flemming said despite these challenges there was a renewed focus within CFR Freight on cross-border operations.“The global trade figures point towards a specific growth in certain sectors of late. Excitingly, the growth experienced for the third and fourth quarter last year was in the direction of the mining and mineral sector. This, of course, speaks to a strong Africa cross-border product servicing a wide range of destinations. It is important that the client trusts the product offerings as well as the sanctity of their client details from a neutral provider. The presence of an effective network within the SADC region will be important along with the reciprocal regional benefits for non-traditional business it may offer.”He said volumes were definitely on the increase. “People are starting to replenish inventories and are pushing new opportunities. This has triggered a demand for the neutral less than truckload (LTL) product, exhibiting the required traits of agility and cost-effectiveness.”People also seemed to be looking to extend the LTL efficiencies into full truckload (FTL), he said. “We are seeing growth in this area of the product, leaning towards spot pricing for a diverse range of destinations serviced.” Von Flemming said there was also a growing need to improve the utilisation of online service providers globally.People are starting to replenish old stock lines, and are pushing for investigation of new opportunities too.– Nic von Flemming“
