BUSINESS FLEET AFRICA | May 2023
WWW.BUSINESSFLEETAFRICA.CO.ZA
TRANSPORT AND FREIGHT INDEX
The South African logistics sector
continued its recovery in March,
with the Ctrack Transport and Freight
Index reaching its highest level since
September, the last month before the
crippling Transnet strike hit the sector.
During March, the Ctrack Transport and
Freight Index increased by a notable
3.3%, the third consecutive monthly
increase and the highest monthly
increase since April 2021, reflective of a
synchronised recovery. In addition, five
of the six sub-sectors measured by the
Ctrack Transport and Freight Index in-
creased on a monthly basis, accelerating
much needed momentum in the sector.
On an annual basis, the Ctrack
Transport and Freight Index is tracking
3.3% higher than a year earlier. While
this is still only a blip on the graph
compared to the annual growth rate of
13.6% recorded as recently as in August
2022, all indications are that the sector is
on a firm positive trajectory.
One of the characteristics of the
logistics sector is the varying discrepan-
cies in the performances of the different
sub-sectors. While this has proved to be
a major positive in the sector’s resil-
ience, a more synchronised recovery, as
was observed in March, is indeed very
encouraging. In March, four of the six
sub-sectors still declined on an annual
basis, whereas five of the six increased
on a monthly basis, indicative of positive
near-term momentum. March’s improve-
ment also confirmed a strong quarterly
performance of the Ctrack Transport
and Freight Index, which increased
by a notable 6.6% quarter on quarter,
representing a much-needed positive
contribution to the country’s GDP.
Interesting trends are emerging.
The performance of four sub-sectors,
including Rail Freight, Storage and
Warehousing, Sea Freight and Pipeline
Transport, remain below levels of a year
ago. This strongly indicates that these
sectors have still not fully recovered
from the cumulative negative impact of
the KZN flooding in April 2022 and the
Transnet strike in October 2022.
Road Freight remains the most
resilient of all sub-sectors, recording
growth of 15.9% year on year at the end
of March 2023. Air Freight has remained
stagnant compared to a year earlier.
“Strong recoveries have been re-
corded in the first quarter of 2023 in Rail
Freight, Pipeline Transport, Sea Freight
and Road Freight, showcasing that the
logistics sector is firmly in recovery
mode, following a dismal end to 2022,”
says Hein Jordt, Chief Executive Officer
of Ctrack Africa.
Recovery of Sea Freight
needs to increase
The Sea Freight component of the Ctrack
Transport and Freight Index was one of
the hardest hit when Transnet workers
embarked on strike action in October
2022, and the results are still being felt,
with Sea Freight declining by 10.9% in
March compared to a year ago and still
tracking 9.8% below the September
2022 pre-strike level. However, the
The South African logistics sector
continued its recovery in March
Graph 1 Ctrack Transport and Freight Index % change on a monthly basis
Jul-18
Jul-19
Jul-20
Jul-21
Jul-22
Jan-18
Jan-19
Jan-20
Jan-21
Jan-22
Oct-18
Oct-19
Oct-20
Oct-21
Oct-22
Jan-23
Apr-18
Apr-19
Apr-20
Apr-21
Apr-22
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
-2%
-4%
-6%
-8%
Source: Ctrack
Recovery Post Lockdown
KZN Looting
Covid 19 Hard-Lockdown
KZN Floods
Transnet Strike
-3.4%
3.3%
CTRACK
Graph 2 Quarterly growth in sub-components of the Ctrack Transport and Freight
Index (%)
Rail
15.5
Pipeline
14.2
Sea
10.3
Road
8.4
Air
-0.7
Storage
-11.6
-15
-10
-5
10
15
20
CTRACK