LaserLink July 2005

Slide1: 

In this issue : Plans to upgrade SA’s transport security New staff members join Durban team Fuel price crisis for air cargo SA Trade with Africa To be noted Plans to upgrade SA’s transport security Cargo Info., 13th July Essential changes to airport and aviation security in SA, as well as upgrades to the country’s maritime and rail environments are on the cards, says Transport Minister Jeff Radebe. Plans will be presented to government for approval and financial backing, says Radebe. New staff members join Durban team We would like to extend a warm welcome to four new members to our Durban team. Transport will have the assistance of Ritesh Ramlakan and in our Sea/Air Operations Division Mohammed Bux will be taking on the position of Imports/Exports Assistant. Saleem Fareed and Jeruska Govender will be running a specialized division in our Durban Warehouse for a leading appliance company. Fuel price crisis for air cargo Cargo info., 30th June According to the International Air Transport association (IATA) global air cargo traffic dropped 1.6% in May over the same month last year in a sign of the mounting effect of high oil prices on the world economy. The negative growth followed a “sluggish performance” since the beginning of 2005, said the association statement. Overall growth for the first five months is 3.1%. “As a leading economic indicator, the slowdown in cargo traffic demonstrates that the high price of oil is slowing the global economy faster than expected”, said IATA director- general Giovanni Bisignani. Passenger travel could also be expected to start dropping “as the decline in economic activity works its way through the economy”, he added.

. . . Pg. 2: 

. . . Pg. 2 SA Trade with Africa FTW, June 2005, Transport into Africa Edition SA’s trade with the rest of the continent in 2004 continued to slow along with most other regions of the world. However, exports declined by only 0.25% from 2003, suggesting that the continent was able to absorb the strength of the rand relatively well. It should also be remembered that exporters from other parts of the globe - notably Asia, and in particular China - have begun to make inroads into many of the markets that South Africa has begun to dominate over the last decade. As the graph illustrates, exports to the rest of Africa increased virtually unchecked from the early nineties until 2002, before falling back in 2003 and 2004. Imports, on the other hand, have surged in the last couple of years after little or no growth up until 2001. However, this is almost entirely due to increased oil and other mineral imports, and South Africa still has the capacity to import far more from the rest of the continent outside of oil and metals. . . . continued

. . . Pg. 3: 

continued . . . South Africa’s key trade partners in the rest of Africa remain unchanged from 2003, although there have been a couple of positional swops in terms of export destinations. Zimbabwe remains the largest export destination for south Africa, although the composition of exports to that country has changed in the last couple of years from value added products to mineral products and vegetable products. However, we should never assume that Africa is our domain, as the rapid spread of mining interest from Canada, Australia, Brazil, China and other countries well illustrates. Key markets such as Angola, the DR-Congo, Nigeria, Sudan , Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania, to name a few, will become increasingly competitive from a supplier perspective. It’s going to require more vigilance and harder work to keep markets and develop new ones as countries from Asia look to develop Africa’s natural resources. These companies are often state-owned and have a different business model from the traditional Western concept, bringing, virtually all of the technological and physical requirements from their home countries, including the labor in some cases. To be noted Safmarine - BAF for cargo to and from North America and Southern Africa amended to US$460/20ft & US$760/40ft. Effective from 1st July 2005. One of the major security projects planned by NPA is to provide video camera coverage of the entire Durban Harbour. According to Harbour Master, Mike Brophy, this would complement the existing installation covering Maydon Wharf. It would help achieve the NSA’s overall goals of reducing cargo and vehicle theft, illegal and undocumented immigrants, drugs and firearms smuggling and trade fraud. On the Customs side he said there were plans to introduce another scanner in line with the CSI. According to the US Justice department, anti-trust enforcers have cleared the proposed merger between bankrupt US Airways and America West Airlines, reports Airwise News. Should you have any enquiries please contact Natalie Holland natalie@laserint.co.za tel.(+27) (031) 465 0577. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Laser Logistics (Pty) Ltd or the Laser Group (Pty) Ltd, unless specifically indicated. While everything possible is done to ensure the accuracy of the information in this issue, which is believed to be correct, neither Laser Logistics (Pty) Ltd nor the Laser Group (Pty) Ltd may be held responsible for any errors. . . . Pg. 3