Air cargo volumes at King Shaka International Airport's Dube Cargo Terminal have surged in recent months due to congestion at South Africa's seaports.
The terminal company said that in the last four months of 2023, its air cargo volume increased by 57% month-on-month due to a paradigm shift.
The company said this trend continued in January this year.
Ricardo Isaac, senior manager for cargo development and operations at Dube Cargo Terminal, said: “There has been significant growth in air cargo across sectors ranging from perishables to automotive, a sector that has traditionally Dependent on shipping.”
"This emphasizes the need for these industries to ensure uninterrupted production and timely delivery to export markets."
"From September to December 2023, we saw fruit exports to the Middle East and European markets double compared to the same period last year.
"On the automotive side, cargo volumes at our air cargo terminals were approximately 30% higher than normal in November."
Isaac added that this trend shows that for time-sensitive goods and where the risk of production outages increases, having efficient air freight options becomes extremely valuable.
The country’s seaports, particularly Durban, are currently facing major challenges, resulting in long waiting times.
The company said the problem had a negative impact on several industries critical to the country's economy, including the citrus industry.
The latter had to deal with financial setbacks due to port-related issues, which resulted in additional shipping costs.
According to Clyde&Co, the backlog outside the port of Durban peaked at the end of November when an estimated 79 ships and more than 61,000 containers were forced to remain at the outer anchorage due to operational challenges, equipment failures and bad weather at the port.
Problems have also been reported at the Port of Cape Town, with an estimated 46,000 containers said to be stranded outside the ports of Ngqula and Geberha in late November.Air cargo volumes at King Shaka International Airport's Dube Cargo Terminal have surged in recent months due to congestion at South Africa's seaports.
The terminal company said that in the last four months of 2023, its air cargo volume increased by 57% month-on-month due to a paradigm shift.
The company said this trend continued in January this year.
Ricardo Isaac, senior manager for cargo development and operations at Dube Cargo Terminal, said: “There has been significant growth in air cargo across sectors ranging from perishables to automotive, a sector that has traditionally Dependent on shipping.”
"This emphasizes the need for these industries to ensure uninterrupted production and timely delivery to export markets."
"From September to December 2023, we saw fruit exports to the Middle East and European markets double compared to the same period last year.
"On the automotive side, cargo volumes at our air cargo terminals were approximately 30% higher than normal in November."
Isaac added that this trend shows that for time-sensitive goods and where the risk of production outages increases, having efficient air freight options becomes extremely valuable.
The country’s seaports, particularly Durban, are currently facing major challenges, resulting in long waiting times.
The company said the problem had a negative impact on several industries critical to the country's economy, including the citrus industry.
The latter had to deal with financial setbacks due to port-related issues, which resulted in additional shipping costs.
According to Clyde&Co, the backlog outside the port of Durban peaked at the end of November when an estimated 79 ships and more than 61,000 containers were forced to remain at the outer anchorage due to operational challenges, equipment failures and bad weather at the port.
Problems have also been reported at the Port of Cape Town, with an estimated 46,000 containers said to be stranded outside the ports of Ngqula and Geberha in late November.
