Logistics in South Africa

With its deserts, steppes and rain forests, South Africa reflects the vast diversity of the entire continent - and is the most developed country in Africa. This is reflected by its selection as host of the 2010 World Cup in soccer. This event is expected to provide an economic boost to the country.

Transport hubs in South Africa

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Geographic challenges in South Africa

The challenges in South Africa are especially multifaceted. In addition to tropical climate zones, the country has many desert regions, high mountain ranges and numerous rain forests. Added to this are the unstable political situation and the large differences in income among various regions.

Core countries for trade

Most South African products are sent to Japan, the United States and Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands. The largest importing country is Germany, followed by China, the United States, Japan and Saudi Arabia [1].

Infrastructure

The infrastructure of most African countries is very limited. In the larger harbors, the situation can hardly be compared with western standards. Even in countries with robust economic growth like South Africa, the transport infrastructure is in poor condition. The insufficient infrastructure in the harbors poses a major problem. As a result, ships wait for days until they can be unloaded. This situation creates considerable difficulties for international companies that manufacture products in South Africa. For instance, the car-loading terminals in harbors for companies like Daimler and VW that export their vehicles from South Africa have reached their capacity limits. For this reason, companies are hoping for investments in the harbors of East London and Port Elizabeth [2].

Logistics requirements and service areas

As part of contract logistics Contract logistics , service providers deliver supplies to manufacturing locations in South Africa. For instance, they employ a just-in-time Just-in-time concept to supply the CKD Completely knocked down assembly lines of a major German automaker with components that are taken right out of the packaging and used in production [3].
On the transport market, special theft-protection transport containers Container have become popular. Toyota, for instance, transports its vehicles in special containers because too many vehicle parts were being stolen while open rail cars were stopped on the tracks.

Logistics centers

Major logistics centers are located in the area around Johannesburg and Pretoria as well as the port cities of Durban, Cape Town, East London and Port Elizabeth. Important stations for the transport of raw materials are Guateng and Sishen as well as the raw-material harbors in Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay.

Important logistics service providers

In South Africa, foreign or internationally active logistics service providers that have global logistics networks are heavily represented. All service providers operate branches in the South African logistics centers of Johannesburg or Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London. Storage capacities are closely attuned to customer needs. Warehouses are frequently leased. The large international service providers in South Africa are DHL, Schenker, Kühne & Nagel, Expeditors and Hellmann.
The most important South African logistics service providers are Safcor Panalpina, Micor, Megafreight and Röhlig Grindrod.

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References

[1] The World Fact Book | Central Intelligence Agency 2007
[2] Südafrika | Ehlers 2006. In: Transport und Logistik | Bundesagentur für Außenwirtschaft (Hrsg.)
[3] Vorsprung durch Logistik | Thiel Logistics+Services 2004