Our container terminals handled an average of 12,062 TEUs per day, up from 11,924 TEUs the week before.Durban’s port operations continued to face significant strain, especially at DGT, where vessel delays continued to be high and some vessels anchored for more than ten days. During the rehabilitation phase, the terminal has purposefully prioritized yard fluidity and landside evacuation, which has temporarily limited waterside productivity. Although reefer capacity is still severely limited, more recent data indicates that conditions are starting to improve, with overall stack occupancy falling from 89.2% to 73.8% between August 25 and 27. Maersk has confirmed that three vessels have been redirected due to the larger disruption, and the ConCor rail outage from August 25 to September 3 would increase landside pressure. Despite having few cranes available, Pier 1 performed admirably and is still supporting the larger Durban recovery operation. Container operations were generally good elsewhere: Ngqura and Port Elizabeth both above aim, with Port Elizabeth maintaining its recent high performance, while CTCT remained comfortably above target despite weather and system delays.
Key Notes:
- An average of 12,062 TEUs was handled per day, with 11,924 TEUs projected for next week.
- DGT latest: Stack occupancy: 89.2% → 73.8% (d/d); Road imports on hand: 6,171 → 5,750.
- Rail cargo handled out of Durban was reported at 781 containers, down by ↓64% from last week.
- Cross-border queue: ↓0.1 hrs; transit: no change; SA borders: ~9.6 hrs (↑6%); SADC: ~6.4 hrs (no change).
- Global port congestion has reached a new high, with more than 4.3 million TEUs waiting to berth.
- Global air cargo fell another ↓5% (w/w), following the ↓2% decline last week; but remains up ↑3%(y/y).
Port operations – General:
- At our container terminals, an average of 12,062 TEUs was handled daily, an increase from 11,924 TEUs the previous week.
- Port operations in Durban remained under considerable pressure, particularly at DGT, where vessel delays remained elevated, and some vessels spent more than 10 days at anchorage.
- The terminal has deliberately prioritised landside evacuation and yard fluidity during the recovery process, which has constrained waterside productivity in the short term.
- Encouragingly, more recent indicators suggest that conditions are beginning to improve, with overall stack occupancy declining from 89.2% to 73.8% between 25 and 27 August, although reefer capacity remains heavily constrained.
- The wider disruption continues to affect vessel schedules, with Maersk confirming three vessels being rerouted, while the ConCor rail shutdown from 25 August to 3 September will add further landside pressure.
- Pier 1 performed strongly despite limited crane availability and continues to assist the wider Durban recovery effort.
- Elsewhere, container operations were generally positive: CTCT remained comfortably above target despite weather and systems delays, while both Ngqura and Port Elizabeth exceeded target, with Port Elizabeth continuing its recent strong performance.
Click the below links to download:
Cargo Movement Report – Full Report
Cargo Movement Report – Summary Report