Investment in the ports of Dar es Salaam, Beira and Walvis Bay mean that Zambian shippers now have greater choice for the routing of imports and exports, says Richard Powell, operations manager of Cargo Management and Logistics (CML) in Ndola. “It takes between seven and ten days to move containers between Dar es Salaam, Beira, Durban or Walvis Bay and the Copperbelt,” he says. In the past, delays at the port of Dar es Salaam meant it could take 30 days or more to move a container. “Dar es Salaam is working well. They have upgraded the roads, so the traffic is flowing more smoothly in the city. However, there are factors other than port efficiency that affect transit time. They range from national holidays and tropical storms to border delays due to the authorities adding new rules or deciding to stop shipments for inspection. Shippers therefore need to deal with freight forwarders who are in touch with developments and can advise on the best routing at a particular time. “We offer our clients the option of choosing price over transit time based on the season of the year and what we see happening in the supply chain. “As a result we are seeing shipments spread over all four ports,” he says.
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