New permit law impacts driver skills shortage

For logistics firms, mid-year proved a time of proverbial feast and famine, if not in that order. A rush to make up for down shipping time during the Transnet strike corresponded with the feverish activity surrounding the Fifa World Cup games and festivities. “Business has certainly picked up since last year, though this past couple of months I suppose it’s been an artificial upswing. When the strike ended everything that had been sitting around had to go out and come in. We’re double busy now,” said Arnold Reddy of Reddy Cargo in Johannesburg. “If it continues the whole year like this we’ll be smiling, and it just may. There’s a lot more determination in the market place, and a lot of shipping both import and export,” Reddy said. Despite the ups and downs of shipping activity, the logistics industry still offers an indispensable service. “Basically every manufactured item has to move at some time in its life. If there is no shipping it’s a sign the economy is in trouble,” said Reddy, who this year opened an office in Lusaka. Previously Zambia business was conducted out of the company’s Jo’burg headquarters. But the firm’s overborder work confirmed the impact that this year’s labour rules changes have had on road freight logistics. “The most challenging part concerning logistics in South Africa is drivers, a huge shortage of quality drivers. We used to have a lot of foreign drivers doing cross border. They were allowed three months here on their passports. Now they need a work permit, and there is a huge application backlog. Government departments never run at optimum level, anyway. We have our HR department trying to assist, but the law change has really hit driver availability,” Reddy said.