Over the last week, unfavorable weather, traffic, and all too frequent equipment shortages and malfunctions have caused disruptions to the nation’s port system. A few vessels bypassed the Port of Cape Town, which went windbound for a day and a half at the beginning of the week, and heavy swells and delayed cargo arrival in Durban caused seven vessel movements to stray from their scheduled routes. The total number of straddles at DCT Pier 2 is expected to drop from the current 98 to 95 next week. Of them, 55 are typically in operation because the remaining machines have reached the end of their useful lives. Crane seven at NCT broke down on Wednesday, leaving the facility using five cranes for operations.Other than that, no noteworthy events were recorded on the ConCor this week, as TFR continues to keep quiet about the state of cable theft and vandalism on our rail network.
Key Notes:
- An average of ~6 755 containers was handled per day, with ~7 585 containers projected for next week.
- Rail cargo handled out of Durban amounted to 2 284 containers, up ↑22% from last week.
- Cross-border queue times were ↓0,1 hours (w/w), with transit times ↑2,9 hours (w/w); SA borders increased by ~2,7 hours, averaging ~12,0 hours (↑30%); Other SADC borders averaged ~8,9 hours (↑48%).
- Despite the Red Sea and Panama Canal barriers, port congestion is only affecting 5,3% of the total fleet.
- Global freight rates have again increased by ↑5% (or $187) to $3 964 per 40-ft container.
- Global air cargo global tonnages increased by ↑5% and continue to surge); rates @ $2,34 per kg.
Port operations – General:
- Inclement weather conditions, congestion, and all too frequent equipment breakdowns and shortages disrupted the national port system over the last week.
- At the start of the week, the Port of Cape Town went windbound for a day and a half, with a few vessels bypassing as a result, while seven vessel movements deviated from their respective schedules in Durban due to high swells and the late arrival of cargo.
- The entire straddle complement at DCT Pier 2 will seemingly reduce to 95 next week from the current 98 – of which 55, on average, are operational due to the rest of them machines exceeding their life cycle.
- On Wednesday, crane seven at NCT experienced a breakdown, which left the terminal operating with five cranes.
- Apart from that, no significant incidents were reported on the ConCor this week as TFR remain tight-lipped on the cable theft and vandalism situation on our rail network.