Freight attacks pose danger to the economy
The recent truck attacks have raised serious safety and economic concerns.
THE Road Freight Association (RFA) has warned against the impact of the attacks on the road freight sector. This follows the recent attacks witnessed, with the most recent in the early hours of July 9 when trucks were set alight on the N3.
RFA CEO Gavin Kelly said the type of attacks chosen was to cause the most mayhem and disruption.
Kelly said the road freight sector (trucks) carries 80% of the goods that are moved in and around South Africa, as well as for those countries that trade with international markets and use South African ports for import and export.
Among many other factors, Kelly highlighted the effect the attacks can have on the busy Port of Durban which subsequently affects deliveries down to the economy.
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“Seven thousand container deliveries are done through the South African ports per day, and the Port of Durban does roughly 4 000 containers a day. Any delay along the N3 – where the majority of containerised freight destined for the Port is transported – will result in backlogs/delays for imports and exports.
“The N3 is probably the busiest corridor in South Africa, carrying far higher volumes of traffic (freight, passenger and light motor vehicles for commercial, tourist and private use) than any other corridor.
“Once again, the cost to the South African economy, taking all the above into consideration, will run into billions of rands lost as business confidence from foreign investors plummets, and those who use South Africa as a transit hub, turn away from us and move to other countries that are safer and more efficient,” he said.
One of the concerns the RFA highlighted is the companies that are victimised by these attacks.
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“While the Road Freight Association (RFA) is currently unaware of which companies were targeted and attacked (and whether this was a random choice of trucks or an actual specific set of transporters), it is always those who are compliant and innocent of the complaints or issues raised by others, that get caught up in these activities and ultimately pay the price of closed businesses and severe cost increases to operations,” they stated.
They further stated that the short-term losses are just as much as the long-term losses.
“While the immediate short-term losses will run into millions of rands, including the cost of vehicles, cargo, personal effects, road damage, EMS response, delays in movement and shipping penalties, the long-term impact will be felt in terms of increased security costs which cause an increase in the cost of logistics, higher insurance premiums, higher SARIA cover premiums, higher toll fees, less freight movement through South Africa, closure of freight companies, loss of jobs – the list continues.”
The association called for peace and for the Department of Employment and Labour and its inspection structures to ensure that their responsibility to protect employees and employers from non-compliant labour practices is strictly and swiftly applied.
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