Automotive, break-bulk sectors at record volumes: Transnet Port Terminals

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) says two of the four sectors the company operates in – automotive and break-bulk – are performing “exceptionally well” and at all-time high volumes.

At the annual Transport Forum held last week, TPT chief executive Jabu Mdaki said the automotive terminal is expected to handle more than 825 000 fully-built vehicles by its financial year-end (end March 2023), while break-bulk volumes are seen surpassing 27 million tonnes.

TPT, a division of state-owned rail, port and pipeline company Transnet, added that although the bulk and container business volumes did not see much change, there is an opportunity for these sectors to “finish strong” by year-end.

Round-the-clock power

More than two weeks after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a National State Of Disaster, as a result of the country’s severe energy crises, the government gazetted the disaster management regulations on electricity constraints on Tuesday.

Read:
SA declares national state of disaster over floods
Disaster regulations cut red tape, prioritise electricity supply to essential sectors

Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma revealed the much-awaited regulations following a special cabinet meeting held on Monday.

The measures listed in the regulations include reducing and managing the impact of load shedding on service delivery, in an effort to support “lifesaving and specified critical infrastructure”.

The regulations provide a list of essential infrastructure covered by the Disaster Management Act, including health and water infrastructure, rail and ports, food production and food storage facilities (where feasible) and critical electronic communications and broadcasting infrastructure.

Transnet’s inclusion in the regulations suggests that the state-owned enterprise, as a critical node of the country’s economy, will receive 24/7 access to the national grid, leaving more room for the embattled company to up its productivity.

Read: Kumba engaging state on urgent fix for Transnet, as profit more than halves

Commodities boost

Strong global demand for commodities like coal and manganese continue to support TPT’s performance. Most of the country’s ports in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape have seen considerable growth in volumes during the financial year, according to TPT.

The Richards Bay Terminal has had to look into expanding its equipment to keep up with operations and, according to TPT, will be adding another conveyor route to increase its offloading capacity of magnetite. The bulk terminal has seen a 9% increase in volumes year to date, while the break-bulk terminal has recorded a 44% increase owing to greater demand for coal globally.

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The Ngqura Container Terminal also saw an uptick, with volumes increasing by 20% so far this financial year, while the Port Elizabeth Container Terminal saw an 11% rise in volumes across refrigerated containers.

Saldanha Terminals – Africa’s largest iron ore export facility, which loads more than 8 000 tonnes of the commodity per hour – have put in a request to increase volume throughput from 60 million tons per annum to 76 million tons.

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