KZN ports’ 2018 growth slows after strong start

THE KwaZulu-Natal ports of Durban and Richards Bay showed slowing growth last month, after a strong start to the year, according to data released by the Transnet National Ports Authority.

Bulk exports out of Richards Bay, which are mostly coal, rose by 0.7% year-on-year (y/y) in May to 7 million tons (Mt) after growing 13.9% in April to 7.6Mt, and rising 11% in March to 8.1Mt, a 19.1% increase in February and a 28.6% surge in January. This resulted in exports out of Richards Bay growing by 19.5% in the first quarter to 26Mt – or an annualised 104Mt.

This means the expectation that the improvement in operations by Transnet Freight Rail since the annual maintenance in July 2017 on the line to the Mpumalanga coalfields should see the annual total move above 90Mt in 2018 could be realised. That is after exports from this port slipped 1.8% last year to 88.8Mt, due in part to weather disruption in October.

Overall bulk exports fell 3.9% in May.

Durban saw a 37% surge in full containers imported in February, after a 15.8% rise in January, but this slowed to 2.8% in March, and a 0.8% gain in April, before a recovery to a 17.5% last month.

Full containers exported fell by 6.9% in March, but then saw 0.3% rise in April before a 7.7% jump in May.

The number of full containers imported grew 18.2% in the first five months, while full containers exported expanded by 4.2%.

Break bulk exports out of Richards Bay, which are mostly aluminium ingots, more than doubled in March this year to 446 189 tons, but dropped to 370 015 tons in May.