SA is set to get its fair share of the €300m [R6bn] investment outlay announced by multinational logistics major DHL across its three business units on the continent, with the group encouraged by the marked turnaround of Transnet’s operational performance.
Shabnum Dawood, head of DHL Global Forwarding in SA, which is estimated to be in line to receive about €50m of the investment over the next five years, said green shoots at Transnet’s operations were visible, making the decision to expand its operation a sensible business case.
Dawood, a 20-year veteran of industry, also took a dim view of the recent findings of the container port performance index (CPPI), developed jointly by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, which found the country’s ports to be the weakest performers globally.
“I know that many people are still feeling depressed that the last report [CPPI] of 2024 said that we currently have the worst ports in the world. But in terms of our experience with the ports in SA, we are starting to see record-breaking numbers from the last few months,” Dawood said.
But in terms of our experience with the ports in SA, we are starting to see record-breaking numbers from the last few months.
— Shabnum Dawood
Head of DHL Global Forwarding in SA
“This means that the infrastructure that has been invested in to date is working in the right direction…. the type of numbers we are seeing now reflect those last seen in 2018, which gives us hope.”
While the CPPI ranked SA ports lowly, it did acknowledge that the Port of Cape Town showed the most improvement among the more than 350 ports surveyed globally.
The port surged by nearly 240 points in 2023-24, the world’s strongest rally in the period. Another SA port, Coega (Ngqura), was ranked fourth on the world’s most improved ports list, having leapt 160 index points in the period under review.
SA’s ports handled more than 100,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in week 16 of this financial year, matching levels last seen in 2017/18. A noticeable improvement was reported across the board, including at the crown jewel in Transnet’s port portfolio, Durban Container Terminal Pier 2 (DCT2).
Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) is investing R4bn in new equipment in the 2025/26 financial year ending April 2026. Last year TPT invested R3.4bn. This year it has already taken delivery of a ship-to-shore crane at its Gqeberha Container Terminal.
TPT, run by Jabu Mdaki, took delivery of 20 straddle carriers in Durban at DCT2 in March. More than 40 forklifts have been delivered at the Cape Town and Durban container terminals.
Expansion
Dawood said the areas the group had identified for expansion include enhancing cold-chain and perishables logistics for agriculture and horticulture exporters; and scaling its expertise in life sciences and healthcare with specialised temperature-controlled transport.
DHL’s supply chain unit is expected to use the investment to add capacity and transport-led solutions with a clear focus on the transporter sector and life sciences & healthcare, “including additional temperature-sensitive capability to support critical healthcare flows”.
It said demand for third-party logistics services continued to grow in the core SA market.
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