Overborder truck shortage persists

Alan Peat THERE IS still a serious shortage of trucks to haul general cargo on the SA-Zambia road route, according to Kevin Gesseau of Ikamiji. Although some trucks became available over the festive season freight slow-down, and rates fell slightly, there's still an ongoing capacity shortfall on the road to Zambia, he told FTW. "Although a lot of people will still have been on holiday until the 14th and there have been trucks available, the same trouble of lack of trucks starts again this week." There's also still lots of maize and fertiliser going up to Zambia, and this US dollar-paying cargo attracts truckers away from general cargo. Gesseau highlights another factor which is putting pressure on truck availability. "One thing that everybody is looking at is the rioting in Lusaka, as the opposition is fighting the election results," he said. "That's also keeping truckers away from Zambia." Another election could also have a detrimental effect on transport availability in the region, Gesseau added - with the Zimbabwe political punch-up just around the corner. "We can also expect to have a shortage going to Zimbabwe during the election period." he said. "Of course this will also have an off-shoot on Malawi loads via Zimbabwe. "In fact, Zimbabwe may affect all transport in the region."