The realities of multimodal container cargo movements through Durban

The continual debate about container logistics to and from the port of Durban is often clouded with misconceptions and even some disinformation, used to prove points or support ambitions.

Official pronouncements often perpetuate the mantra of “corridor development” without examining the facts.

The dominance of Durban as the busiest container port in the region is undisputed, but there are several aspects of the container trade that are often not appreciated, and it is essential that reality is used as the basis for discussion as well as decision-making.

The relative position of Durban among the South African ports; the effects of the recession and reduced consumer spending in 2009; the increasing transshipment at Ngqura and increased container handling – albeit from a low base – at Richards Bay; and the recovery in import container volumes in 2010 are all evident in the table below, for the period 2003–2010.

The effect of the recession has been varied in each port, depending on the typical cargo mix, as shown in the year-on-year variations in TEUs handled.

Two aspects of the data are critical for understanding the logistics implications: firstly, that the numbers indicate movements (container movements are counted in and out); and secondly, movements are recorded in 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs.

One standard TEU is a six-metre container, a 12-metre container equals 2 TEUs. As 50% of import boxes are 12-metre containers, we need to adjust the numbers to calculate the actual numbers of crane movements, or the number of truck loads to be moved.

The next important fact to bear in mind is that about 20% of boxes landed and shipped are “transshipment” containers that do not move out of the port at all, but are stacked for collection by other vessels sailing to other destinations.

Transshipment is a critical aspect of the worldwide container system, but is relatively unprofitable for ports, as space rental tends to be low – and shipping lines are hard negotiators.

The impact of the aforementioned factors is that the total number of TEUs handled in Durban can be recalculated approximately as follows:

• TEUs handled in 2010 = 2 553 392, therefore 851 130: 6-metre boxes and 851 130:12-metre boxes

• Transshipment = 435 352 TEU movements (50% landed and 50% shipped)

In South Africa, the relative proportions of full import and export containers are badly skewed due to the lack of manufacturing capacity and the resultant need to import consumer goods and manufactured industrial goods.

The number of full containers (TEUs) landed were 903 525 and the number of full containers shipped was 637 568, giving a total number of container movements to and from the port of 1 541 093 TEUs for the year.

Total volume (approximately 513 697 x 6 metres and 513 697 x 12 metres) is therefore approximately one million transport moves per year, or 3 000 per day.

The next significant feature of the analysis of container movements is that 65% of containerised cargo movements are consigned to destinations within KwaZulu-Natal, and most of those are within the Durban Metro area. This is, firstly, due to the logistical necessity to remove the boxes from the port as soon as possible to avoid penalty charges; secondly, it is cheaper to return the boxes to the depots of the owners (shipping lines and leasing companies) as quickly as possible to reduce rental costs.

In order to achieve quick container turnaround times, goods are transported to warehouses and depots and destuffed, sorted, stored (sometimes reweighed, labelled, priced, ironed, placed on hangers, repacked into South African brand packaging etc., and may be subject to various other processes), and the boxes are returned to depots located all around Durban.

Destuffing the containers eliminates the weight of the boxes from the long-distance transport movement (the containers weigh about 2.8 and 3.9 tonnes respectively for 6- and 12-metre boxes), and the contents of 3 x 6-metre boxes (or more) can be loaded onto an interlink combination.

The goods are then made up into loads on road vehicles (and may be consolidated) for consignment to a range of destinations in the interior.

The road transport cost is minimised by use of optimum vehicle configurations and the co-ordination of transport operations to achieve high levels of return cargo (which often includes empty containers).

Most of the TEUs to be transported inland by road are moved immediately from the port to the transporter’s depot. They are then reloaded for inland transport, due to the complexity and inefficiency incurred in scheduling long-distance vehicles to collect containers from the port.

The balance of 35% of full containers that are not destuffed amounts to about 539 382 TEUs per annum, of which approximately 70% (377 567) are transported by road and 30% (161 814) by rail to inland destinations.

The return of these boxes to the coast, usually empty, doubles the volumes to be transported by road and rail, in more or less the same proportions.

From the aforementioned analysis, it is apparent that the continual promotion of the proposition that rail transport of containers can revolutionise logistics in South Africa is largely illusory and based on false appreciation of the realities of the container trade.

Eighty-five percent of rail containers movements are transported between 15 origins and 15 destinations (including the ports).

City Deep is the largest inland rail container terminal, but inland destinations include cross-border and manufacturing industrial concentration points.

The 15% balance of containers consigned all over the country, in very small numbers, is really not economical to transport by rail.

Nick Porée

South African Freight Transport Institute

www.safti.co.za