Advance planning crucial
JOY ORLEK
CURRENT SPACE constraints in a highly buoyant airfreight sector have created a growing demand for express services, says Cargocare managing director Roland Raath.
“While we’re still continuing with our normal consolidations, we find more and more clients requiring express services to meet urgent deadlines.
“And our policy is to book only with reputable airlines who offer a refund guarantee in cases where the delivery promises are not met.”
But Raath stresses that even with express freight, advance planning is crucial, and this
requires mutual co-operation in partnership with the customer.
Lower interest rates and the stronger rand have clearly contributed to the positive import flow, and Raath is confident that the current peak is likely to last well into December.
An interesting trend, he says, is the growing number of companies choosing to keep their doors open through the festive period.
“In the last five years the ratio has been around 20% of clients not closing but we now find the reverse is true with 20-30% closing and the rest continuing to do business.
“Our prediction is that the surge will continue into January, although perhaps at a slightly less intensive level.”
