The Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) has commended Transnet for having made substantial improvements to its volume throughput throughout South Africa’s key container terminals in recent weeks.

The association finds in its latest ‘Cargo Movement Update’, produced in collaboration with Business Unity South Africa, that South Africa’s ports handled more than 97 000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the week of June 22 and 87 000 TEUs in the week of June 29, exceeding targets by 13% and 2%, respectively.

The update also finds daily TEU throughput increased significantly over the last weekend, with an average 16 359 TEUs having been handled a day on June 28 and June 29.

The SAAFF’s research suggests there has been an increase in capacity and operational readiness, which reflects steady progress having been made on Transnet’s part.

SAAFF research and development head Dr Jacob van Rensburg says further encouragement comes from the fact that the load was shared across the board, including the smaller and multi-purpose terminals, not just terminals dedicated to containerised cargo.

SAAFF CEO Dr Juanita Maree adds that the association is seeing meaningful progress and renewed operational capacity from Transnet.

“The hard work by all involved from Transnet Port Terminals to logistics partners, combined with the deployment of new equipment, improved cargo evacuation processes and ongoing terminal refurbishments, is clearly traction under this cross-collaborative approach,” she explains.

The positive impact of the improvement in Transnet’s port performance is further echoed in broader economic signals.

The South African Reserve Bank’s quarterly bulletin finds R11.7-billion in foreign direct investment flowed into the country in the June quarter, compared with R7.5-billion of inflows in the prior quarter.

Latest trade statistics by South African Revenue Services also reports South Africa has a preliminary trade balance surplus of R21.7-billion as of May, which shows the economy is picking up some speed after a subdued start to the year.

Maree concludes that a continued focus on performance improvement within the national logistics network will go a long way in boosting global investor confidence in South Africa’s markets.