Stats reveal 25% downturn in overall activity

It is very difficult to talk about exact, comparative stats, but a measure of the current downturn for SA industry and commerce is found in SA Container Depots’ (SACD) figures for container and cargo handling and storage at the main SA port of Durban, according to Mike Martin, KZN regional manager and director of SACD. “The SACD Durban volume of cargo handled into-and-out-of containers has pretty much mirrored the decline (year-on-year, January- April) in loaded, deep-sea containers handled in the port,” he said. “Bear in mind though that there are other dynamics at play – like new accounts gained and/or lost; once-off, non-repeat shipments; cross border and coastal volumes etc – which do not allow for a totally meaningful direct comparison to be made. The general trend is, however, the same.” Looking at his figures for imports and exports for SACD, Martin came up with a drop of about 25% in overall activity. This indicator is largely supported by the port stats released to FTW by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), which reported a 16.4% decline in total TEUs handled, with deep-sea imports down 26% and deep-sea exports 23% lower. Martin pointed out that transhipments for Durban were up this year, mostly empties - but added that these have neither influence nor income for local industry. As much of SACD’s business comes from the big corporations, Martin feels that these figures would be a reasonably fair indicator of the effect of the global trade recession on SA industry.