SA’s land transport costs among the highest

South Africa’s supply chain performance has once again failed dismally according to the 2010 edition of supplychainforesight, an annual independent study conceptualised and sponsored by Barloworld Logistics. The survey found that even though South Africa was rated quite highly in terms of ease of trade and infrastructural sophistication by the recently released second study by the World Bank on international trade flows, the country’s supply chain performance and infrastructure make it uncompetitive. “Despite the positive messages about our trade infrastructure, our ease of doing business cross border is amongst the worst in our competitor group,” said Kate Stubbs, general manager: marketing for Barloworld Logistics. “In almost every area – clearance times, numbers of export and import documents, and quality assurance measures such as frequency of inspections – South Africa makes it relatively hard to do business,” said Stubbs. Speaking at the launch of the study last week, she said South Africa’s currency stability remained low and the rate of the GDP decline high. “The more dangerous aspects of our international competitiveness are seen in the areas of ports and airports, as well as land transport – our lead times are at best average, and our costs high compared to key strategic competitors such as Brazil, India and China. Indeed in the area of land transport our export and import costs are the highest of the comparative group as a whole.” The study, which surveyed nearly 400 top executives in the country, also found that South Africa’s emission standards were only worse than the United Arab Emirates, an oilproducing country.