‘Trade with Europe back to decent numbers’

For independent groupage operator CFR Freight volumes have been on an upward trajectory during the recession as well as the recovery, says managing director Martin Keck. “For the first half of the year we’ve seen an increase of at least 10%. Even during the recession we had no problem volume-wise, with several shippers switching from FCLs to LCLs. The challenges in the competitive Gauteng market have been issues like the Transnet strike and the impact of the Fifa World Cup. “During the strike certain seafreight imports and exports were lost to airfreight which led to a negative distortion in May. There was a rollover effect in June – but the bottom line is that 10-15% of seafreight consolidations had no option but to move by the speedier airfreight option.” A more stable pattern is likely to emerge over the next few months, he told FTW. In line with customer demands for the fastest and most cost-effective option, an emerging trend has been the manifesting to Durban of cargo whose final destination is Johannesburg. “As a result our Durban volumes are growing faster than Johannesburg traffic – although Gauteng continues to be a good market for us.” Trade with Europe is back to decent numbers, according to Keck. “In terms of Africa and South Africa, China and India are the big growth markets – and more so in other African countries. In fact, volumes from the east are running almost parallel to volumes from traditional European markets. “If you look at what’s happening in sub Saharan Africa, Europe has lost its footprint.” In line with changing trade patterns, CFR continues to increase its direct services from the east on a regular basis. And while service upgrades are constantly under review, developing and focusing on interactive communication with customers is equally important, says Keck. “If you use your IT services cleverly it frees up your staff to concentrate on service level requests – and that’s been a big part of our continued growth.” For the future, Keck is enthusiastic about the ultimate benefits of the Gauteng infrastructure once all the road works have been completed. But on a practical note, he’s concerned about the impact on costs of the new toll system. Not only is it likely to affect rates because hauliers’ costs will increase – but the cost for the consumer will also become a concern that employers will need to address.