Good morning, colleagues and interested parties
We are sharing the latest version of the cargo report.
The following highlights are worth noting:
- Durban Gateway Terminal – current situation:
- Waterside performance improved materially, with volumes up ↑35% to 4,742 TEUs/day, around 85% of estimated target and the strongest weekly result since early August.
- The vessel backlog remains substantial and volatile, with the anchorage queue moving from six vessels on 14–15 September to nine on 16 September and seven on 17 September.
- Yard inventories reduced sharply, with road imports on hand down ↓34%, rail containers on hand down ↓56%, and overall stack occupancy easing from 63.3% to 58.0%.
- Underlying landside throughput remains below pre-crisis levels: gate activity averaged 2,351 moves/day versus 2,847 previously, while rail evacuation averaged approximately 233 containers/day versus 477 before the crisis.
- TNPA figures for August & Transnet Financial Results
- Bulk cargo remains the strongest part of the port recovery, with cumulative throughput up by +7.6% (y/y) YTD through August.
- Container growth has lost considerable momentum in the last two months. Although volumes remain up by +4.9% (y/y) YTD, August throughput fell to 382,755 TEUs, down -7% (m/m) and -7% (y/y), with recent difficulties at DGT weighing materially on performance.
- Transnet’s 2025/26 financial results nevertheless confirm a broader recovery: revenue increased by +7.1% to R88.6 billion, while the Group returned to a R4.6 billion profit from a R1.9 billion loss in the previous year. The profit was, however, materially supported by the Durban terminal transaction.
- The overall message remains one of recovery rather than completion: operational and financial performance has improved materially, but sustained progress now depends on converting this recovery into structural improvements in capacity, reliability, infrastructure investment and reform.
