Tighter times mean more quotes

The economic downturn has proved good for the consolidation business because the smaller volumes being shipped require breakbulk handling. “Breakbulk is more common nowadays because factories are not filling full containers. Their orders are smaller. This is what we saw during the last economic downturn,” said Mark Snowball,” MD of RFB Logistics. As a result, consolidators like RFB Logistics are seeing consistent business this year, though achieving this has required work. “We’re at the other end of the phone all the time. There are big opportunities in the subcontracting game nowadays. You have to keep an ear to the ground every day,” said Snowball. The firm operates out of Durban and Johannesburg and has notched up 24 years’ experience in the consolidation field. Breakbulk containers arriving by ship at the port of Durban are broken down at the company’s yard and loaded onto a fleet of 30 trucks for delivery to customers. Another sign of the times is the rise in requests for quotes, as shippers seek accurate and economic forecasts to save time and money. “I’m doing a lot more quoting nowadays since the economy has tightened up. 80% of our time is taken up by quoting, and 80% of the quotes go to transporters. They need the quotes for their clients,” Snowball said. “A lot of people in our game don’t know how to quote. Or they won’t quote sight unseen. They want to see the cargo first. We’re also willing to go out on a limb with a quote. A customer may tell us by phone that the shipment is 3.5 tonnes and nine cubic metres. We quote for that. We stick to the quote when the shipment arrives and it’s seven tonnes,” Snowball said.“You go along with it, because at the end of the day it all evens out,” he said.