S Africa's logistics sector in recovery mode in 2025: Ctrack TFI

After having reached the lowest level in two years in January 2025, the TFI increased in six of the nine months to September to reach an index level of 118.5, 3.5 per cent higher than in January, but still only 0.7 per cent up year on year (YoY).

Notable progress on structural reforms to modernise the freight logistics sector has been observed in recent months and that is creating a base to support future growth in the industry and the economy at large, Ctrack said in a LinkedIn post.

Much-needed efficiency gains at ports and the rejuvenation of the rail network will in due course positively affect the economy by reducing transport costs, while enabling robust export growth potential, it noted.

Considering the first nine months of 2025, three sub-sectors contracted YoY and three advanced. However, given that the heavy-weighted road freight sub-sector remained under pressure, the overall logistics sector lagged by 3.3 per cent YoY.

While monthly increases were recorded for three consecutive months to August, the Ctrack TFI slipped slightly in September, suggesting that the recovery will not be in a straight line and confirming that the sector is by no means out of woods yet, Ctrack remarked.

The road freight sector, which accounted for 85.6 per cent of all freight payload in South Africa in the first eight months this year, has experienced multiple headwinds since 2023.

Among other cross-border delays, serious operational troubles at ports (particularly at the Durban port) and episodes of arson attacks targeting trucks on the N3 in KwaZulu-Natal, often also spreading to Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

Government has also recently started to focus on structural reforms to redirect cargoes from road back to rail, although the impact thereof will only likely be notable in the medium term, Ctrack remarked.

With the economy still stuck in muddling-along-mode, road freight payload subsequently declined by a notable 7.7 per cent in 2024 and further by 0.8 per cent year-to-date in 2025.

The recovery in the country’s rail freight sector is gradual, but on track and likely to see more cargoes moving from road to rail in coming years, as structural reforms gain momentum. A significant driver of government’s logistics reform agenda was the need to arrest the decline in freight volumes as a result of weak operational performance.

The implementation of Transnet’s Recovery Plan, which aim to increase the availability and reliability of rolling stock, address the maintenance backlog across the rail network, enhance customer collaboration and reduce security incidents, has been supported by the National Logistics Crisis Committee.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)