Container movement at South Africa’s port terminals has bounced back from the previous two weeks to a daily average of 8 246, according to the latest Container Movement Update compiled by the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) and Business Unity SA (Busa).
The recovery comes after movement for the last two weeks in August trended down week-on-week (w-o-w), from a daily average of 6 747 recorded on Friday, August 23 to 6 537 on the 30th.
The daily average measured on September 6 heralds a bounce-back percentage of 26.1%.
In the meantime, ports all along the coast continue to feel the last of bad weather, often causing Table Bay to be windbound.
The Update reported that “adverse weather, high swells, and equipment breakdowns primarily constrained port operations”.
“Network issues and a distress vessel at Berth 601 at the Port of Cape Town represented the primary operational constraints.”
Durban has also felt the brunt of bad weather in recent times, which the port’s chief executive for terminals, Earle Peters, confirmed in a recent conversation with Freight News.
He specifically mentioned swell volatility.
According to the Update, “high swells delayed a vessel in Durban for around 31 hours”.
As has been the case w-o-w at the country’s Eastern Cape ports, strong winds and stormy seas impacted container movement at the Port of Port Elizabeth and Gqeberha’s sister port of Ngqura.
Landside container carriage wasn’t without challenge on the corridor linking Durban with Gauteng, as “minimal rail operations took place on the ConCor”, Saaff/Busa reported.
The report stated that everything was on track for a resumption of operations.
