TPT’s poor landside performance squeezes DTB out of business

Durban’s oldest port cartage company has decided to shut shop, battered into submission by years of inefficient performance by Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), according to Paul Rayner, MD and owner of the 109-year-old family company, DTB Cartage. This was a company that originally started operations hauling cargoes out of the Port of Durban by horse and cart soon after the turn of the 20th century – and developed over the years into one of the city’s major short-haul container transporters. But recent times have seen serious cut-backs forced on the company. “At our peak about five years ago we employed 111 people,” Rayner told FTW. “But, due to economic conditions, this has reduced to 75 currently, many of whom, mainly in the unskilled general worker category, will now be unemployed.” While there are several contributory factors to the decision to close, Rayner noted that “the overwhelming reason” has been the poor performance of the landside operation of the various terminals in the Port of Durban over the past several years. “We continually have to cope with port issues such as: industrial action; computer or systems failures; insufficient straddle carriers; and bad planning resulting in lengthy queues at one tower and no vehicles at others,” he added. “Port management seems to be incompetent or unwilling to deal with these issues and in any event does not view transport operators as their clients. And, while they are prepared to meet with us, one gets the feeling that they are merely going through the motions to get an unwelcome irritation off their backs.” Rayner also stressed that, if the Port of Durban operated in a truly commercial environment where port users had a choice of service providers, “then TPT would have no customers”. Having had to make a decision about the future of doing business in the Port of Durban and ploughing capital expenditure into unproductive vehicles, he added it had been decided that “it would not be a prudent investment”. DTB Cartage has, therefore, decided to sell its vehicles and close down its operation. The fleet has been purchased by another oldtimer in the Durban road transport industry, the 50-year-old Gantrans group of companies. It will be absorbing the DTB fleet of trucks and trailers into its own business. And this sizeable expansion of its shipping section – which offers the same port container delivery/collection service offered by DTB – will allow it to offer a standard service to its overflow of customers looking for this product. “One without all the bells and whistles that our major clients demand,” said Gantrans director Kooven Naidu. “We’ll grow this division, serving DTB’s existing clientele, and our own established client base – and the expanded fleet will give us the potential to take on new customers.”