Alan Peat THE CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) study on the airfreight option for automotive companies is now well under way, according to the council’s Barlow Manilal. This was triggered as the result of an August meeting of all the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) - when the serious production line problems caused by port congestion thrust forward the possibility of airfreight on an organised scale as an urgent or emergency alternative. It also revealed that all the companies in the industry were - unlike those in most other industry sectors - actually prepared to talk about mutual contracting of aircraft or airfreight capacity. “We’re trying to make this study into an industry initiative,” said Manilal. This “shared” idea has moved a stage further, and part of the CSIR’s brief is to assess the likes of the most cost-efficient distribution hubs in the foreign supply regions of the world - primarily the UK and Europe and the Far East, with South America a lesser, but growing source. “The trends we pick up from our study will show us which exit we’ll use from Europe, for example,” said Manilal. “For instance, significant exports from SA into Germany would indicate that it’s appropriate, but we’re looking at all the options.” Suitable service providers and economies of scale also form part of the study, Manilal added. “The scoping exercise should be finished by the end of the year,” he told FTW. “After that it’s the tendering exercise to see the service providers’ proposals.” It would appear that the airfreight option should then be able to get up and running in the March to June period of next year, Manilal forecast.
