National freight logistics strategy makes headway

The review of the National Freight Logistics Strategy (NFLS) 2005 has made headway and will be presented to the Interdepartmental Task Team on Freight Logistics in April next year, said consultant Nick Porée on behalf of the department of transport (DoT). Speaking at the Special Interest Group (SIG) Transport Forum in Gauteng last week, Porée pointed out that a preliminary identification of issues had been conducted and a customer survey and review of the regulatory framework had just been completed. “Broader stakeholder consultation will take place once the modal review has been completed,” he said. One of the sad realities is that many of the challenges around domestic transport have remained the same for the past 30 years. This includes the South African freight system’s inability to fulfil the demand for cargo movements in a cost-effective and reliable manner. “This failure stems from an inappropriate institutional and regulatory structure that doesn’t punish inefficiency or reward efficiency,” said Porée. Logistics professor at the University of Stellenbosch, Jan Havenga, commented that the transport cost was still well above 50% of the total logistics cost in South Africa (53.9% in 2015) but added that while cost and efficiency continued to be major pain points for the industry, it was also time to start looking at reducing the demand for freight transport. “South African demand is significantly higher than that of the world average, which speaks volumes about how freight is managed in the country,” said Havenga. INSERT & CAPTION Transport cost is still well above 50% of the total logistics cost in South Africa. – Jan Havenga