The Freight Forwarding Industry in South Africa 2021

The Freight Forwarding Industry in South Africa

The freight forwarding and customs clearance sector makes a major contribution to facilitating trade in South Africa and co-ordinates over 80% of South Africa’s international trade. Ongoing waves of the pandemic continue to hamper the trade in goods by supressing consumer spending and causing congestion and disruptions at ports. These factors are driving up container freight costs and hampering the industry’s recovery. Most recently the sector has also been affected by rioting in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, which disrupted trucks and port operations.

Reduced Volumes

The movement of freight at ports has been affected by the pandemic, weather conditions, ageing equipment and human resource limitations. Major industry players reported significantly lower volumes and revenue in 2020 and cited the pandemic, port inefficiencies, load-shedding and lower demand from manufacturers for logistics services. Congestion and increased shipping rates have reduced the volumes moving into South Africa, and some companies are redirecting their ships to ports in neighbouring countries.

Port Inefficiencies

Port operations are affected by slow processing, a backlog in container repairs and inspection, a lack of investment, skills shortages and strikes at container terminals. South African ports rank near the bottom of global container ports, and below other African ports, in a World Bank performance index. South Africa risks losing market share to other ports as a result.

Report Coverage

This report focuses on the freight forwarding and customs clearing industry and excludes courier activities and the arrangement of freight insurance. It includes information on maritime, rail, road and air freight, trade port and freight statistics, the effect of the pandemic, unrest and cyber-attacks, and corporate actions and developments. There are profiles of 43 companies, including Bidvest Freight, Grindrod, and Value Logistics. Other companies profiled include Barloworld Logistics, which the Barloworld Group plans to sell, clearing and forwarding company Berry and Donaldson, international companies such as Pantos Logistics, and sea freight companies such as Phosfert Marine.