South African container ports have set a new operational milestone, moving a record 18,689 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in a single day during August, the highest daily volume recorded since the pandemic.
- South African ports set a daily operational milestone by moving 18,689 TEUs in August.
- The Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders highlighted this as a turning point after two challenging years.
- Despite domestic and international challenges, the milestone underscores resilience and collaboration in the logistics sector.
- Sustaining such achievements will require structural reforms to enhance efficiency and competitiveness in South African ports.
The achievement, confirmed by the Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF), highlights resilience in the country’s maritime sector, which has faced mounting strain from shifting global trade dynamics and internal inefficiencies.
According to SAAFF Chief Executive Juanita Maree, the performance marks a turning point after two years of difficulties. “The last 24 months have been challenging, but with new equipment, amended processes, and collective effort, port performance is stabilising.
This is not the success of one, but of many – SAAFF members and industry partners have played a vital role in this journey,” she said, in remarks reported by Africa Ports.
The record was set on Week 20, Day 4 of Transnet’s financial year, when the country’s major container terminals collectively handled 18,689 TEUs.
While just shy of the 20,000 TEU target, the milestone underscores what Maree described as the “resilience, collaboration, and determination of our logistics community, port operators, and industry stakeholders.”
Industry observers say the achievement, though symbolic, sets a powerful benchmark for continued improvements in South Africa’s port performance, even as the sector contends with policy pressures, infrastructure constraints, and shifting global trade flows.
South African ports defy trade headwinds
This milestone comes at a time when South Africa faces growing uncertainty under U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, which has introduced new costs and competitive pressures on key exports.
The escalation of tariffs has already weakened parts of the mining and agricultural export chains, complicating logistics for shippers and raising concerns among exporters about future access to global markets.
These external policy pressures are compounded by domestic challenges, including ageing port infrastructure, limited cargo-handling capacity, and recurring delays that continue to drive up operating costs for shipping lines and traders.
The difficulties have been further heightened by global shipping giant, Maersk’s decision to scale back operations in South African ports, a move widely interpreted as a setback for port revenues and regional competitiveness.
When Maersk announced it would no longer rely heavily on South African container hubs, industry analysts warned of cascading effects on throughput, investment confidence, and the country’s standing as a gateway for Southern African trade.
Instead, Maersk redirected a portion of its operations to alternative ports on the continent, underscoring the risks South Africa faces if operational bottlenecks and policy frictions are not resolved.
Despite these headwinds, the record daily throughput demonstrates that Transnet-operated terminals retain the capacity to scale up when demand surges. However, critics caution that such gains are difficult to sustain without structural reforms to strengthen efficiency, resilience, and long-term competitiveness.
