SA ports process record tonnage
January 31, 2006
Johannesburg - South African ports handled a record 173.6 million tons (Mt) in 2005, a 2.8 percent rise on 2004, the National Ports Authority (NPA) said on Monday.
The data was released as thousands of state-owned transport utility Transnet workers went on strike following the unions' dispute with Transnet over its restructuring plans. The unions claim that the changes will directly affect 30 000 workers out of a total Transnet labour force of 85 000.
The unions involved are the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu), United Association of SA (Uasa) and the SA Railway and Harbours Union (Sarwhu).
According to the unions, Transnet wishes to privatise some businesses or parts of business units such as Freightdynamics, Transnet Pension Fund Administration, Autopax and the Blue Train; transfer SAA, Metrorail and Shosholoza Meyl out of Transnet as well as transfer sections of some business units to another unit within Transnet - such as the transfer of some rail engineering workers from Spoornet to Transwerk.
The NPA data showed that exports rose by 3.2 percent to 113.4 Mt. This included a 2.1 percent rise at Richards Bay, the main coal export terminal, to 76.6 Mt, while exports at Saldanha Bay, the main iron ore terminal, increased by 6.4 percent to 28.2 Mt.
These growth rates lag the increases in global seaborne coal and iron trade with main exporters blaming Transnet for under-investing in engines, rolling stock and cranes.
Iron ore imports into China for instance grew by 32.2 percent in 2005 to 280 Mt, but South Africa was not able to match this rise.
In the 2005 Budget Review, the Treasury said that Transnet expects to spend about R30 billion on infrastructure, including port and port operations infrastructure, freight rolling stock, rail, and fuel pipelines over the next three years.
Transnet has recruited former Gencor senior executive Bernard Smith to oversee its capital investment.
"The South African system of national logistics is characterised by escalating costs, bad service delivery, poor response to customer needs, and a weak skills base. The situation is further exacerbated by under-investment in infrastructure. Monopoly control within certain modes of transport, poorly defined institutional relationships and few incentives within the rail and ports to reduce costs give further rise to inefficiencies in the delivery of services," the Treasury said.
The cumulative result is high logistics costs to the economy and reduced international competitiveness, with the logistics costs as reported in the first annual state of logistics survey conducted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) representing 14.7 percent of GDP in South Africa, compared with 8.5 percent in the US economy. - I-Net Bridge
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