The road freight transport sector continues to face challenges and rising costs

While 2024 has brought some relief to the road freight sector, challenges remain, driving up costs and increasing stress. Addressing delegates at the Road Freight Association’s (RFA) annual conference in Hermanus at the weekend, RFA chief executive Gavin Kelly said the trucking industry remains under pressure, operating in difficult economic times.

“We face four main challenges in 2023, with traffic congestion probably one of the biggest,” he said during his keynote address. “It was not only about congestion at various land border crossings, but also at the country’s ports. “Crime remains a major topic of discussion, and while RFA doesn’t discuss the stakes, it’s safe to say it was under pressure.”

Fast forward to 2024 and Kelly noted that while some congestion issues have been resolved, queues at border crossings are much shorter and recovery plans are ensuring greater fluidity at ports, the sector has not recovered.

“Continued delays at ports and borders continue to increase costs,” he said. “Sars customs has significantly reduced waiting times at border crossings, and thanks to new equipment and better controls, ports are also seeing a backlog, but we are still experiencing delays.”

He expressed concerns about Transnet, highlighting the need for significant changes in the approach to logistics. “If we don’t fix this, we’ll be in trouble,” he warned.

He also mentioned the Department of Transport’s ongoing efforts to enforce stricter safety regulations, with particular emphasis on the Aarto and RTMC initiatives. “We are closely monitoring these developments,” he added, pointing out that trucking operators were at risk of going out of business as they struggled to adapt to an increasingly stringent legislative and regulatory environment.

Addressing the issue of crime, Kelly noted the involvement of the Presidential Crisis Commission. “We have representatives on the committee and we are starting to see some progress,” he said.

On labor issues, Kelly acknowledged tighter margins and limited opportunities for wage increases, noting that despite these challenges, there has been little or no violence in wage negotiations in the road freight sector over the past 12 years. He attributed this to the commitment of both employees and employers to work together.

Looking ahead, Kelly noted significant uncertainty surrounding the outcome of this week’s national elections. “We are closely monitoring the development of the situation and as an association we will establish new relationships with key ministries. We hope for positive changes that will drive economic growth in the country, he said.