The latest data from Ctracks Transport and Freight Index (TFI) reveals a concerning decline in South Africa's logistics sector, with the index dropping to 119.8 in July, marking the lowest level since February.
The decline follows a period of growth, as the TFI had been on an upward trend for three consecutive months prior to this downturn.
The TFI report highlights that five of the six sectors measured experienced declines in June, with only a slight recovery seen in July, where four sectors continued to show negative trends.
Year-on-year (y-o-y), the TFI recorded a 1% decrease in July compared to the same month last year.
Road freight, which is critical to South Africa's logistics as it accounts for 83.6% of all moved cargo, was particularly affected, showing a significant drop of 3.9% in July after a 1.8% decline in June.
This sector was the only one that did not improve by July and was identified as the primary contributor to the overall decline of the TFI following a stronger performance in previous months.
Rail freight also saw a month-on-month (m-o-m) decrease of 2.4% in July.
However, it is still showing an annual recovery with a 9.4% increase year-to-date.
In contrast, airfreight emerged as the strongest performer among the sectors, despite experiencing a m-o-m decline of 7.2%.
Year-to-date figures indicate that airfreight has increased by 11.1%.
Overall, it remains 16.3% stronger compared to last year.
The TFI also noted a significant decrease in container throughput at South Africas ports, which fell by 7.9% m-o-m in July after a 1.9% dip in June.
Although exported container volumes rose by 7.9% in June, they plummeted by 24% in July due to extreme weather conditions that exacerbated existing issues at ports characterised by poor productivity and frequent equipment failures.
The storage and handling sector faced challenges as well, with cargo storage levels declining by 3.9% m-o-m and down 8.4% compared to last year.
While the recent figures indicate disappointing performance for June and July, they mask an overall improvement for the year to date across most sectors.
The TFI report suggests that despite the setbacks caused by adverse weather and operational inefficiencies, there are signs of resilience within certain areas of South Africa's logistics sector that may contribute positively to economic recovery efforts moving forward.
Sign up to our mailing list and get daily news headlines and weekly features directly to your inbox free. Subscribe to receive print copies of Freight News Features to your door.
