Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has commended Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) for achieving a significant turnaround in operational performance, averaging over 90,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per week since June 2025. This marks a major improvement compared to the 65,000 TEUs per week handled during the same period in 2024.
Container Volumes on the Rise
A focus on improving loading and offloading rates has driven a 7.2% year-on-year increase in container volumes by the end of August 2025. Notably, during the week ending 20 July 2025, TPT handled 101,295 TEUs, one of the highest weekly volumes in its history.
The only higher record dates back to the 2014/15 financial year, when TPT managed 105,650 TEUs in a single week.
“This improved performance gives us hope that trans-shipment volumes we lost during the 2023/24 year will return in due course to our ports, ensuring both job retention and future job creation for our maritime economy,” Minister Creecy said.
Investment and Initiatives Driving Performance
The performance turnaround can be attributed to several key initiatives:
- Equipment upgrades: Nine rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes at Durban Container Terminal Pier 1, 20 straddle carriers at Durban Pier 2, a ship-to-shore crane at Port Elizabeth, and over 200 haulers and trailers across container terminals.
- Maintenance focus: Improved spares availability and reduced equipment breakdowns, resulting in greater uptime.
- Process improvements: Streamlined operations and a new container performance dashboard providing real-time performance monitoring.
- People management: A fourth shift system to reduce fatigue and improve wellbeing, along with a new incentive scheme to boost productivity.
Collaboration at the Core
According to TPT Chief Executive Jabu Mdaki, the milestone reflects “unprecedented collaboration between TPT, labour partners, shipping lines, cargo owners, and logistics stakeholders.” He highlighted that vessels are now berthing on arrival across all terminals, a remarkable achievement considering the severe backlogs experienced in 2023.
This combination of investment, efficiency measures, and stakeholder cooperation has placed South Africa’s port terminals on a stronger footing, signaling renewed competitiveness in the global shipping sector.
