Thanks to booming manganese volumes, Ngqura has become a bulk port since 2018.
Bulk volumes have increased from 609 000 tons in 2018 to 5.3 million in 2023.
In the 2022/23 financial year, Transnet Freight Rails (TFR) manganese export line between Hotazel and Port Elizabeth carried a record 9 780 293 million tons, leaving 3.5 million tons to be transported by road.
The same tipper system is being used in Port Elizabeth harbour to augment the manganese terminal, which has an annual capacity of six million tons.
Transnet statistics show that the port handled over 10 million tons in 2023, which means that around four million tons were loaded at other berths in the port.
East London is also handling manganese exports. Volumes through the port have also been boosted by the grain terminal coming back into service.
The decline of the rail system is most evident in Richards Bay.
Richards Bay Coal Terminal chair Nosipho Damasane reported in January that a consistent and drastic decline in coal volumes delivered via rail saw RBCT exports dropping to levels last seen in the early 1990s.
Read the full article in our Freight Features edition on 'Bulk Cargo'. 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.
