Truck ban would hammer SA ports

The proposal by transport minister Elizabeth Dipuo Peters to ban trucks for six hours a day will not only clobber the road transport industry, it will also deal a nearknockout blow to the SA ports – effectively cutting their 24-hour business day by 25%. With Peters’ proposed embargo effectively stopping trucks dead for the 06:00- 09:00 and 17:00-20:00 periods on weekdays, all the port terminals – container, bulk, breakbulk and multi-purpose – will get their in and out gates jammed up solid, as trucks will be legally unable to even turn a wheel on the public access roads. In container terminals it will also increase their equipment and staff needs, and have an adverse impact on necessary stack space and times. All of which is causing Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) some considerable concern as its senior management sit down to try to conjure up practical solutions to all the problems that the the ban will cause. As Karl Socikwa, CE of TPT, put it to FTW: “We are still reviewing the import and impact of this policy approach to fully understand the totality of its permutations. “We are thus not in a position to provide comment at this time.” But Kevin Martin, MD of Freightliner Transport and former chairman of the Durban Harbour Carriers’ Association (DHCA), detailed just some of the problems that were teasing the minds of TPT management. He pointed out that the ban meant that for six hours all heavy road transport over nine-tonne gross vehicle mass (GVM) would have to be parked off. “Peters’ reasoning is to reduce the accident rate,” he added. “Yet the above hours are ‘rush hour’ when all vehicles are bumper to bumper and are slow-moving. Yet the hours from 23:00 to 04:30 – the so-called ‘death hours’ due to a combination of speed and fatigue – are open, with no restrictions.” Martin also pointed out that it was a known fact that 80% of all cargoes arrived and left the port by road – with most cargoes moved by road (short distance) for local packing/ unpacking and approximately 20% moving direct by road (long distance) to the port. “So the ban is going to cause a horrific parking problem for the nation – especially on major routes,” he said. Now, if the ports’ working days are to be cut by 25%, Martin immediately saw three direct effects. “Container terminals,” he told FTW, “will have to increase stacking space by 25 % minimum to combat the world-wide trend to large vessels. That is because this increased parcel size is already placing stack space under strain. In short, they will need to make more land available to terminals by evicting existing port tenants. “They will also have to extend stack times by at least one day ie, stack from three days to four days, and for large vessels from four days to five days. “Added to that, they will have to increase equipment on the land side by at least 25%. That is, if the port handles 5 000 containers per 24 hours, that will be reduced by 1 250 containers due to the six-hour park-off. And this would now have to be handled in the reduced time frame – which means more equipment and staffing.” Martin also saw another resultant impact, pointing out that shipping lines’ empty container depots would need to work extended hours and have a 25% larger stockholding.