Containers are up by 6% this week; air cargo is down by 4%
Good morning, colleagues and interested parties
We are sharing the latest version of the cargo report for distribution.
Some highlights discussed this week include the following:
1. South African trade landscape overview:
a. SARS’s December merchandise trade data show a preliminary surplus of R23,5 billion, with exports falling sharply by -12,5% (m/m) to R164 billion and imports declining by -5,8% to R141 billion.
b. Despite the weaker December export performance, the 2025 year-to-date surplus reached R202 billion (above R197 billion in 2024), while December exports were +3,4% (y/y) and imports -2,2%.
c. AGOA extension through 31 December 2026 (retroactive to 30 September 2025) bodes well for trade certainty this year. However, the US Senate scaled back a longer renewal, as the House accepted the compromise.
2. Port operations:
a. Port operations for the week showed somewhat lower container volumes, notably with Cape Town plagued by continued weather delays, and other terminals reporting minor weather delays.
b. The Durban Gateway Terminal continued to show strong performance on the waterside, with container volume moved across the waterside for the week being 25,628containers (+13%).
c. RBCT had a bumper week, as the daily average coal throughput for the week increased and averaged around 201,000 tons (+17%, w/w) a day.
