The main factors limiting port operations were bad weather, shortages and malfunctions of equipment, and traffic. Severe vessel range at the beginning of the week caused delays in operations at the Port of Cape Town, while technical malfunctions and the closure of the Island View passage guaranteed delays in Durban operations. This week, terrible weather and equipment malfunctions cost the Eastern Cape almost 40 operational hours. Meanwhile, the Port of Richards Bay saw five hours of operational delays at the beginning of the week and more bad weather as the week went on. According to the most recent worries expressed by the industry and TPT, over 300 Port of Durban slots were taken in less than two minutes on Tuesday. TPT believes users are accessing the system with artificial intelligence (AI) in order to reserve these specific spaces. In addition, cable theft near the end of the week caused operational delays of up to 12 hours on a portion of the ConCor line.
Key Notes:
- An average of ~7 428 containers was handled per day, with ~9 144 containers projected for next week.
- Rail cargo handled out of Durban was reported at 3 234 containers, up ↑4% from last week.
- SARS trade stats for June: exports are down by ↓3,4% (m/m), imports ↓6,5%, trade surplus of R24,2 billion.
- Cross-border queue: ↑1,1; transit: ↓0,4 hrs; SA borders: 10,8 hrs (↓11%); SADC borders: 4,8 hrs (↓6%).
- Container spot rates decreased by ↓1,2% (or $70) and is trading at $5 736 per 40-ft container
- Air cargo tonnages are down by ↓2% (w/w) and ↓5% versus June, with rates trading at $2,52/kg.
Port operations – General:
- Port operations were primarily constrained by inclement weather conditions, equipment breakdowns and shortages, and congestion.
- Operations at the Port of Cape Town were delayed by severe vessel ranging at the start of the week, while the closure of the Island View channel and equipment breakdowns ensured operational delays in Durban.
- Over 40 operational hours were lost in the Eastern Cape this week due to inclement weather and equipment breakdowns, while the Port of Richards Bay experienced around five hours of operational delays at the start of the week and also experienced some bad weather as the week progressed.
- The latest concerns raised from both industry and TPT suggest that approximately 300 slots for the Port of Durban were grabbed up in the space of two minutes, on Tuesday.
- TPT suspect that users are using AI technology to get into the system to book these respective slots.
- Additionally, towards the end of the week, a section of the ConCor line experienced operational delays of up to 12 hours due to cable theft.
Read more:
Cargo Movement Report – Full Report
Cargo Movement Report – Summary Report