Tough times call for smart solutions

With world markets unstable
and the rand’s volatility
at play, there has been a definite
decrease in cross-border
volumes, with lower commodity
prices further affecting the
market.
However all is not lost,
according to Lesiba Mvundlela,
overborder manager for SDV
South Africa.
“We are going through a bit of
a bad patch in the industry,” she
said. “But it just means that we
have to come up with solutions,
along with our clients, that
address the market impact and
effect cost savings.”
According to Mvundlela, the
slump in the copper and related
commodity prices in particular
has had a knock-on effect in the
procurement strategies of major
buyers in the cross-border sector.
“This has forced us to review
rating as that is always the first
port of call for procurers. Our
service providers are working
with us through these tough
times to ensure that the end
customer benefits in this volatile
market.”
With the emergence of the
Walvis Bay port in Namibia and
Mozambique’s Beira port there
are advantages for the likes of
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi
and The Democratic Republic
of Congo in terms of reduced
transit time as opposed to
Durban port.
“This has led to lower volumes
being routed through South Africa
to these land-locked countries,
with the obvious consequence
being that we are slowly losing our
grip as the gateway into Africa,
in shipping terms – ultimately
affecting our trade balance.”
She said an increasing number
of customers were opting for
consolidations rather than full
truck loads. There’s also evidence
of stricter import regulations,
she added, with the likes of
Zimbabwe introducing preshipment
inspections for various
items and Zambia increasing
royalty taxes.