The tolling of Gauteng’s
roads will increase
Imperial Logistics’
operating costs by R60
million per year, according
to its chief integration
officer, Cobus Rossouw.
This figure, he said,
was less than expected
and excluded internal
administration fees.
“Initial calculations
were around R100 million,
but we are now looking
at around R60 million per
annum,” he said during
a recent presentation on
the impact of the Gauteng
Freeway Improvement
Project (GFIP) on freight
logistics. “We must not
forget that we often overestimate
how much we
travel on tolled roads. The
average is lower than 50%.
So yes, we expected the
figure we were going to
pay on toll fees to be much
higher.”
Asked who would
ultimately be responsible
for the bill, Rossouw
admitted much of the cost
would be passed on.
“It is a very difficult
question to answer because
Gauteng is impacted
heavily by distribution
activity and throughput.
That is different from
your normal long hauling
activities,” explained
Rossouw. “The reality
is that Gauteng has a
very different logistics
environment that has to be
taken into account. With
distribution it is not as
simple as just passing the
cost on to the customer as
efficiency has been gained
that must be taken into
consideration.”
He said where it was
statutory costs they would
undoubtedly be passed on
directly to their clients.
“There really is no simple
answer.”
He said regardless of the
increased cost of the tolls
it was important to note
that logistics operators
and customers alike were
gaining efficiency. “We
will be able to get better
predictability of vehicles
with faster turnaround
times on trucks. All in all
there will be a benefit to
all.”
Rossouw said ultimately
freight logistics in the
country needed capacity
and therefore Imperial
Logistics welcomed the
GFIP as that was what it
was ultimately creating.
“We need capacity to
grow with the economy.
I live in Pretoria and I
work in Germiston and
I have to admit that the
R21 that I travel along is
a pleasure, but already
capacity has been breached
as it takes me fifteen
minutes longer to get to
work than a year ago,” he
said. “We are now in the
plus-15-minutes-a year
situation. The message is
simple. If we don’t have
new development and we
don’t spend money on our
infrastructure we will not
grow our economy.”
According to Rossouw,
the lack of capacity often
results in congestion –
an unpredictability that
drives up supply chain and
logistics costs.
“Therefore we put lots
of fat into the system as
one does not have control
over when deliveries will
take place. That results
in higher costs,” he said.
“Also, when freight is
moved to off-peak times
such as deliveries at night,
for example, it has a cost
implication.”
Calling on more
compliance from truck
operators, Rossouw said
logistics operators would
ultimately benefit from the
GFIP as it would improve
efficiency significantly.
“Compliance, however,
is critical. We need
to make sure that we
don’t have overloaded
vehicles on the roads or
vehicles that are not being
maintained.”
INSERT
‘We must not forget
that we often overestimate
how much
we travel on tolled
roads.’
CAPTION
Cobus Rossouw … ‘We will be
able to get better predictability with
faster turnaround times.’
