BUSINESS FLEET AFRICA | October 2022
WWW.BUSINESSFLEETAFRICA.CO.ZA
TRANSPORT AND FREIGHT INDEX
The South African logistics sector con-
tinued to improve during the month of
August, building on its strong Q3 perfor-
mance. The Ctrack Transport and Freight
Index (Ctrack TFI) grew by 2.0% in August
compared to July, which represented
a 12.9% improvement compared to a
year ago, and an improvement on July’s
revised 9.0% year-on-year growth rate.
The annual comparison is, however,
still influenced by a low base of compar-
ison, as the August 2021 Index was still
under pressure due to the aftermath
of the riots in KZN and Gauteng during
July 2021. During August the Ctrack
Transport and Freight Index was able to
surpass March’s pre-flooding level.
Despite many challenges that remain
a reality for the sector including high fuel
prices, rising interest rates and the nega-
tive impact of regular load shedding, the
logistics sector proved to be largely resil-
ient. Four of the six segments measured
by the Ctrack Transport and Freight
Index increased on an annual basis
during August, with the star performer
once again being Road Freight, followed
by Pipeline Transport, Air Freight and
Sea Freight. The remaining segments
including Storage and Handling and Rail
Freight returned declines. The latter
has been on a downward spiral for five
consecutive months, reflecting ongoing
challenges in the rail sector.
“We have had a couple of months
without any major disasters and the
majority of the segments measured by
the Ctrack Transport and Freight Index
have benefitted from this stability in
the general transport environment.
However, further policy restraints,
inflationary impact on tyres, parts and
servicing items do remain a concern for
the Road Transport Industry and can
restrict further growth and recovery,”
says Hein Jordt, Chief Executive Officer
of Ctrack Africa.
While the broader economic en-
vironment has a real effect on all the
sectors measured by the Ctrack Transport
and Freight Index, there are still vastly
different trends evident in each of these
sub-sectors. These trends are partly a
reflection of specific infrastructural chal-
lenges (notably in rail freight), while other
factors such as government policies,
management, efficiency and adaptability
also play an important role in the perfor-
mance of the various sub-sectors.
Road Freight was the best performing
sub-sector during August, with a notable
increase of 28.6% compared to a year
ago, a continuation of a positive growth
streak that emanated in January 2021.
While the number of heavy trucks on the
N3 and N4 toll routes declined by 2.7%
during August, StatsSA reported that
Road Freight payload for the country as
a whole has shown continuous growth,
with a 34% improvement on an annual
basis. The sector has been a beneficiary
of the on going underperformance of
the rail industry but has also been able
to capitalise on the evolving trend of
parcel delivery, driven by increases
in the popularity of online shopping.
According to the StatsSA land transport
survey, income generated from parcel
delivery has increased by 108.7% since
January 2018.
The Rail Freight component declined
by 8.9% year-on-year during August, the
fifth consecutive month of decline, which
can be attributed to large-scale theft of
copper cables, insufficient maintenance,
The South African logistics
sector continues to improve
Graph 1 Ctrack Transport and Freight Index % change on year ago
cTrack & EcONOmIsTs.cO.za
Aug-14
Aug-15
Aug-16
Aug-17
Aug-18
Aug-19
Aug-20
Aug-21
Aug-22
Feb-15
Feb-16
Feb-17
Feb-18
Feb-19
Feb-20
Feb-21
Feb-22
Nov-14
Nov-15
Nov-16
Nov-17
Nov-18
Nov-19
Nov-20
Nov-21
May-15
May-16
May-17
May-18
May-19
May-20
May-21
May-22
30%
20%
10%
0%
-10%
-20%
-30%
4,4%
12,9%
Graph 2 Ctrack Transport and Freight Index components (% change on year ago)
cTrack & EcONOmIsTs.cO.za
Road freight
Pipeline
Air freight
Sea freight
Rail freight
Storage
–13.9
–8.9
5.4
13.0
18.1
28.6
30
–20
–10
10
20