Domestic port operations this week returned to the well-known pattern of bad weather, all-too-frequent equipment breakdowns and shortages, load-shedding, operational issues, and congestion after a brief improvement last week in terms of numbers. This week, East London was unable to evade load-shedding once more. Operational delays were also caused by equipment issues, such as gearbox problems with one of the cranes and straddle carrier failures. DCT’s Pier 2 had only 51 available straddle carriers out of a total of 108 at the beginning of the week, and by the conclusion of the week, they had slightly improved to a range of 61 to 65. Once more, TFR was the victim of a number of serious cable theft and vandalism events, which dimmed the outlook for operations on the rail network.
Key Notes:
- An average of ~8 819 containers was handled per day, with ~8 620 containers projected for next week.
- Rail cargo handled out of Durban amounted to 2 147 containers, ↑25% compared to last week.
- Cross-border queue times were ↑0,9 hours, with transit times ↑3,0 hours, SA borders ~8,2 hours (↓29%).
- CTS container throughput (dry & reefer) is up by a massive ↑22,4% (m/m) but down ↓3,1% (y/y).
- Global container freight rates decreased slightly by ↓1% (or $22) to $1 741 per 40 ft this week.
- Liner schedule reliability improved by ↑2,4% (m/m) to 62,6%, with average late arrivals at 5,03 days.
- Air cargo demand continues to weaken (↓1%, w/w) as capacity (↑13%, y/y) drives rates down.
Port operations – General:
- After some improvements last week, number-wise, domestic port operations this week reverted to the well-known pattern involving adverse weather, all-too-frequent equipment breakdowns and shortages, load-shedding, operational incidents, and congestion.
- Once again, East London could not escape the clutches of load-shedding this week.
- At the same time, equipment challenges in the form of straddle carrier breakdowns and a gearbox malfunction on one of the cranes also ensured operational delays.
- During the earlier stages of the week, DCT’s Pier 2 only had 51 available straddle carriers out of a total of 108, and they ended the week with a minor improvement to a range of 61 -65.
- Once again, TFR was hit by several major incidents of cable theft and vandalism, dampening recovery prospects for operations on the rail network.