BUSINESS FLEET AFRICA | September 2023
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TRANSPORT AND FREIGHT INDEX
The Ctrack Transport and Freight
Index (Ctrack TFI) retreated further in
July 2023 to an index level of 120.8,
the lowest since March (120.5). This
represents a decrease of 1,2% during the
month of July. This second consecutive
monthly contraction confirms the loss
of momentum in the logistics sector.
In addition, four of the six sub-sectors
measured by the Ctrack Transport and
Freight Index declined on a monthly
basis, including Rail, Road, Storage
and Air Freight. Pipeline transport
recorded marginal growth, while Sea
Freight was the only sub-sector to show
strong growth. Despite these monthly
contractions, on an annual basis, the
Ctrack Transport and Freight Index is still
tracking 3,3% higher in July, compared to
6,4% in June on a year-on-year basis, but
many challenges remain.
The South African transport and
freight sector has been in sharp focus
during the past few months as gov-
ernment has started to come to terms
with the negative impact the under-
performance of the sector has on the
broader economy. In a recent update
of Operation Vulindlela published on
27 August 2023, government indicated
that a new ‘Freight Logistics Roadmap’
is currently undergoing an internal
government consultative process
for publication before the end of the
year. “The roadmap will incorporate
proposals to resolve the immediate
operational challenges while developing
interventions to fundamentally restruc-
ture the logistics sector to support
inclusive economic growth,” the update
states. In October 2020, President Cyril
Ramaphosa announced the establish-
ment of Operation Vulindlela as a joint
initiative of The Presidency and National
Treasury to accelerate the implemen-
tation of reforms to revive economic
growth and create jobs.
Implementation of the roadmap will
be overseen by the National Logistics
Crisis Committee (NLCC), established
by President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier
this year to address problems afflicting
the sector, including a steep deteri-
oration in rail services and ongoing
port inefficiencies, trends which have
been reflected in the subsectors of the
Ctrack Transport and Freight Index for
some months now. A joint strategic
operations committee is also being
established between the NLCC and the
private sector, with organised business
having identified the logistics crisis
as one of three areas in which it will
provide direct support to government.
Similar joint action is also underway in
Transport emerges as one of
the top performers
of SA economy
Source: Ctrack
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
May-18
May-19
May-20
May-21
May-22
May-23
Aug-18
Aug-19
Aug-20
Aug-21
Aug-22
Nov-18
Nov-19
Nov-20
Nov-21
Nov-22
Feb-19
Feb-20
Feb-21
Feb-22
Feb-23
Graph 1 Ctrack Transport and Freight Index
CTRACK
Storage
7.8
Road
6.9
Sea
-3.1
Air
-4.0
Rail
-6.2
Pipeline
-19.2
-25%
-20%
-15%
-5%
-10%
0%
5%
10%
Graph 2 Annual growth in sub-components of the Ctrack Transport and Freight
Index (%)
CTRACK