New fees will sound death knell for smaller operators

The huge increase in the cost of cross-border transport permits is likely to put numbers of small and medium trucking companies out of business, according to Dave Watts, Durban maritime adviser to the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff). The sheer enormity of the increases (see tables below), said Watts, obviously puts great pressure on the possible profitability of a smaller trucking outfit, and endangers their very existence. The actual case study he released to FTW was that of a small cross-border transporter operating 10 rigs. Because it is a general haulier with no specific contracts, and hauls to destinations in Zimbabwe, Zambia or Malawi nominated on a week-to-week basis, it needs the flexibility of having three permits per truck. And sometimes these permits are used only once or twice in a three-month period. “As far as a 12-month permit is concerned he would have to find R5 720 x 10 x 3 = R171 600,” said Watts. “This could be described as a worst-case scenario, but for this trucker, who operates to three over-border countries, the flexibility the previous tariff gave him is essential. “What I do not understand is why an SA agency requires a separate permit per country. What can the rationale be behind that, except to provide additional income?” The trucker is equally disturbed about the new cost issue he faces. “As a small operator I just cannot afford this sort of overhead,” he said. “We can only try and pass it on to customers if all other transporters pass it on. So far we have had no success in doing this. “Together with the recent fuel price increases and the general shortage of work, I am now very concerned about the future of my business.”