A barometer of any nation’s economy is the number of trucks bringing goods in and exports out. By this measure, BP Freight is a good source to consult for prospects in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Both countries have gone through rough patches for differing reasons, but at mid-year are showing signs of rebounding. “We started as a consolidator to Zimbabwe 12 years ago, and at the beginning of this year our consols dropped off drastically. One delivery every 10 days. Slowly but surely it’s been picking up, and we are now back at the levels of early last year. All our regular clients whom we’ve been dealing with for ten years are ordering again. Now we are doing a consol shipment every four to five days,” said Peter Loram, a manager at BP Freight. Because the rand and dollar replaced the Zimbabwe currency in March, some stability has returned to the buying and selling of goods, and with this a revived interest in doing business. “For us we can see the difference. We are doing a lot more quotes for shipping to Zimbabwe,” said Loram. BP Freight picks up shipments from Cape Town and Durban, and consolidations are assembled at the company’s Johannesburg office and warehouse in Pomona. Like other transport firms delivering to Zambia, a lessening of volumes since last year is attributed to declining mining activity. The month of May saw a perceptible increase in volumes. “It’s too early to say it’s a trend, but we do see more business. The mines have to keep operating,” said Loram
