Naamsa | The Automotive Business Council and Transnet have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop and convene a naamsa–Transnet ‘auto war room’.

This war room will drive the collection, consolidation and sharing of data to support the implementation of strategic initiatives, while it will also monitor key railway performance indicators, as well as slot availability/capacity and rolling stock availability and utilisation, explains naamsa president Billy Tom.

The MoU also supports the development of priority infrastructure projects by the State railway owner, including the South Corridor between Gauteng and the Eastern Cape, and the rollout of the Gqeberha/Coega Port Masterplan, aimed at easing congestion at these ports.

It will also take a close look at the Maputo port and the used imported vehicles landing there, in an effort to counter these vehicles reaching South Africa illegally.

Both organisations will also collaborate to develop standard operating procedures to mitigate automotive-specific challenges and bottlenecks.

Providing more specifics, Naamsa chief projects officer Shivani Singh notes that the war room will look at the proactive sharing of information related to the delays and forecasted delays of trains, vessels and containers.

“There is also going to be a big focus on improving port logistics security measures. As we know, that has been a challenge for us recently.

“We are also going to be collaborating on improving productivity and efficiency outcomes by sharing some of the continuous improvement  knowledge we have in the auto sector to optimise wagon and port usage.

“We are also going to be focusing on bidirectional trains; making sure they are running optimally,

“We are also going to be driving, as naamsa, our input into the new wagon designs that will specifically meet the auto sector’s requirements.”

Tom emphasises that infrastructure investment is critical in supporting the promotion and expansion of the South African automotive sector, and that this is underpinned by the provision of cost-effective and reliable port and logistics services.

The automotive industry contributes 5.3% to South Africa’s GDP. In 2023, the export of vehicles and automotive components reached a record R270.8-billion, equating to 14.7% of the country’s total exports.