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.