Floods hit auto production and supply in South Africa
By Jason Dunn2022-05-30T13:20:00
Disastrous flooding in KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa has badly affected the country’s automotive industry with logistics routes knocked out and damage to the port of Durban. Toyota’s plant in Prospecton has also been closed down
The devastating floods have caused billions in damage in KZN’s industrial areas. They have left a trail of destruction at Durban port, and across inland rail and road infrastructure. That has caused serious logistics problems for the inbound movement of automotive parts and the delivery of finished vehicles outbound via the port.
While normal port operations have resumed, export and import deliveries will remain strained for some time because of significant backlogs caused to the disruption to the multimodal transport network. OEMs based in Gauteng province, South Africa’s main economic region, are implementing contingency plans and interventions to increase trucking capacity and utilise alternative roads.
“The Naamsa Supply Chain committee is currently collaborating closely with Transnet to accommodate the industry’s logistics requirements for exports and imports via Durban and KZN,” said Naamsa CEO, Mikel Mabasa. Transet is South Africa’s largest rail, port and pipeline company.