As the January 1 deadline for the lifting of the moratorium on the movement of high cube containers on South Africa’s roads approaches, speculation is rife that the Department of Transport (DoT) will extend it. Industry has argued that the movement of high cubes is not unsafe and has consistently asked the government to amend it to allow for a height of 4.6m since the issue first came to the table in 2011. Industry also maintains that since the moratorium has been in place for eight years with no major incidents having occurred, surely high cubes can now be declared safe. Government, on the other hand, has maintained that there is no proof these containers are safe, calling for a research study to determine the impact they have on the roads. It is rumoured the DoT is planning to extend the moratorium by 18 months to June 2021 while the study is undertaken. Previous attempts at a study failed because the tenders were too expensive. Mike Walwyn, a consultant for the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) and industry representative on the high cube issue, would not confirm the rumours only saying that encouraging discussions were ongoing with the DoT. “Indications are very positive that there will be no implementation of the regulation as it currently stands in the immediate future,” he said. Whilst exact figures are not available, it is estimated around 1.5 million high cube containers are transported by road across southern Africa each year with no untoward incident having being reported to date. Transporters say converting the existing trailer fleet to accommodate the height regulation of 4.3m is impossible due to the cost. According to economist Mike Schussler, the cost of changing the platform of a single truck is well over R100 000 – and at current profit margins this is not feasible for the average transport operator in view of the weak economy in which they are operating. Freightliner’s Kevin Martin, who has been involved with the high cube issue since 2011, told FTW it was unclear why the DoT could not just change the regulation to 4.3m. “I think the DoT already knows the outcomes of their research and that they’re just busy with a face-saving exercise,” he said, referring to their insistence of conducting a research study. “They have said we shouldn’t panic because unless it becomes very apparent why they shouldn’t change the law they will change it. Well, I don’t know why they would have to wait so long because I am sure they’ll find soon enough that they should change the law.” He said the fact of the matter was that many studies around high cubes had been done. “If the DoT want to waste time and money on finding out what we know they must go ahead.” According to regulation 224 (b) of the National Road Traffic Regulation Act containers, when transported on the back of a trailer, may not exceed a height of 4.3m. This is not a problem for standard containers that are 2.6m high. High cubes, however, have an overall height of 2.9m meaning when on the back of a trailer they exceed the 4.3m height limitation by 30cm, at 4.6m.