South Africa’s container recovery lost momentum in August with throughput declining by 7% month on month and year on year.
The country’s commercial ports handled 382 755 TEUs during the month compared with 411 056 TEUs in July, according to Transnet National Ports Authority statistics analysed by the Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF).
Landed containers declined by 6% month on month to 201 008 TEUs while shipped containers fell by 7% to 181 747 TEUs.
Although container throughput for the first eight months of 2026 remained 4.9% higher than during the corresponding period last year, the August figures were 14% below those recorded in August 2019.
SAAFF said the decline reflects recent operational difficulties at the Durban Gateway Terminal and shows that the broader recovery of the port system remains uneven and fragile.
Performance differed significantly across other cargo categories.
Dry bulk throughput reached 14.73 million tonnes, an increase of 2% year on year, while breakbulk volumes rose by 10% to 630 744 tonnes.
Liquid bulk throughput declined by 10% year on year to 2.58 million tonnes and remained 25% below its August 2019 level.
Vehicle throughput delivered the strongest performance, increasing by 19% year on year to 96 945 units. This was also 23% higher than the number of vehicles handled in August 2019.
Total cargo volumes, excluding vehicles, were broadly unchanged from August 2025 but remained 4% below the comparable 2019 level.
Despite the August slowdown, total bulk cargo volumes for the year to date were 7.6% higher compared to the same period in 2025.
The central challenge was to consolidate operational recovery while accelerating the investment, reform and capacity improvements required to deliver sustainable port performance, SAAFF said.
