No fireworks – but second quarter improvement

The key decision to serve a destination depends on customer demand. For Durban-based Transmax Logistics, located at Pinewood, the next likely country to upgrade from secondary to primary route may be Mozambique. “Our primary routes are Zimbabwe and Zambia, but this year we’ve received a lot of enquiries about Mozambique,” said Melissa Upton, financial manager at Transmax. “We would like to develop that route. Our main concern is guaranteeing delivery time. We need to honour deadlines,” Upton said. Rather than have customer shipments languish for days or weeks as enough consolidation cargo is assembled to fill one of the company’s four 34-tonne Super Link trucks, there have to be enough customers to consistently and swiftly send a vehicle on its way to justify a new route. “We deliver anywhere in Africa. Volumes generally were off the first quarter of this year, which is the slow quarter anyway, and only slightly. We’re not expecting fireworks for the rest of the year, but we’ve seen volumes improve in the second quarter,” said Upton. One effect of this year’s economic contraction is that some previously dependable clients are having difficulty paying invoices by the usual 30-day deadline. As is the case with other consolidators, Upton noted: “We are cautious at the moment, a little wary of extending credit.” Transmax Logistics picks up shipments from its clients’ premises throughout SA, and maintains a depot in Johannesburg. Hazardous material handling is one speciality. The company fleet is about to grow with the purchase of another SuperLink. “It’s a long-term investment. Sometimes we have to sub-contract, and when you do that you may not be in control,” Upton said.