Nissan gives Maputo the thumbs-up

Nissan South Africa’s trial run using the Port of Maputo for its imports and exports is proving successful. According to Delsarie Landman, a senior logistics engineer with Nissan SA, the first consignment of vehicle imports was delivered via the Maputo port just over a week ago. “We are now planning the first trial of a containerised import and once that is completed to satisfaction Nissan will be using the Port of Maputo as its third harbour.” The Gauteng-based company imports around 97 containers a week via Port Elizabeth which is 1200km by rail and 88 containers a week from Durban, which is around 800km. “The decision to use Maputo is based on a distance reduction of about 200km compared to Durban and will see us reducing our lead time and logistical costs per container by 18% for Durban and 25% for Port Elizabeth.” Landman said since the company could not stop the manufacturing plant, the need for an efficient, low-cost provider for imports was imperative. “We believe Maputo port offers this.” Landman said Maputo would be included in all future negotiations.