Transport News
Shhh, don’t wake the whales
Canada seeks bids for “quiet containership” technologies.
Trade shifts east as West Coast port negotiations continue
Fearing a strike or slowdown at West Coast ports, importers are diverting cargo to ports along the East and Gulf Coasts as dockworker contract talks continue.
Sanral to restart, wrap up adjudication process on cancelled tenders by end September Sanral chairperson Themba Mhambi talks about the issues identified with the agency’s construction bid evaluation process. Video and editing: Kutlwano Matlala
The board of the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has instructed Sanral management to readvertise and award the R17.47-billion in tenders the board cancelled earlier in May, citing “material irregularities”, within the next four months. Speaking at a media conference in Centurion on Monday, Sanral board chairperson Themba Mhambi added that the board would recruit an independent public institution with infrastructure expertise to assist with the process to advertise and adjudicate the tenders, and to make a recommendation to the board on the winning bidders.
New standards for municipalities
The South African Bureau of Standards’ (SABS’) technical committee has added new standards that municipality procurement teams need to adhere to when awarding tenders.
Six land-based borders prioritised for one-stop border management roll-out
South Africa is creating a Border Management Authority (BMA) that will unify the border control functions and processes from various national departments, and BMA CEO and national commissioner Dr Mike Masiapato says the authority will also help to manage crucial transport and trade corridors. Six land-based ports of entry have been identified to be the first forerunners of one-stop border posts, which will see the BMA deploy personnel, information technology systems and intelligence and information sharing systems to improve the efficiency of immigration and the movement of goods.
‘The losses are enormous’: Mpumalanga shutdown hits coal, chrome exporters
Blockaded roads and disruption of transport routes associated with the Mpumalanga shutdown have served to twist the knife in commodity exporters already struggling to move product out of the country. A shutdown campaign gripped Mpumalanga on Wednesday when taxi and truck drivers blockaded critical transport routes, and even offloaded tonnages of coal onto highways, in protest of escalating fuel prices. On Thursday, disruptions spread to the R34 connecting Richards Bay and Empangeni.
AscendTMS Becomes The First TMS Software To Provide Live Trucking Insurance Quotes With New Program
Instant online quotes offer up to 30% savings each month with safe driving – and up to 3 full months of AscendTMS free just by getting started with a CarrierHQ quote.
Matt Caine Joins CLX Logistics As VP Of Sales And Marketing In North America – Heading New Office In
CLX Logistics is pleased to announce the newest member of our leadership team, Matt Caine. Matt joins the team as VP of Sales and Marketing in North America and will be heading a new office in Houston, TX. Matt is a process-driven professional.
SEDNA Selects Chain.io to Empower Freight Forwarders with CargoWise Integrations
SEDNA expands to reach new users through Chain.io, bringing the power to leverage inbound and outbound communication in sophisticated collaboration platform.
Sanral to restart, wrap up adjudication process on cancelled tenders by end September Sanral chairperson Themba Mhambi talks about the issues identified with the agency’s construction bid evaluation process. Video and editing: Kutlwano Matlala
The board of the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has instructed Sanral management to readvertise and award the R17.47-billion in tenders the board cancelled earlier in May, citing “material irregularities”, within the next four months. Speaking at a media conference in Centurion on Monday, Sanral board chairperson Themba Mhambi added that the board would recruit an independent public institution with infrastructure expertise to assist with the process to advertise and adjudicate the tenders, and to make a recommendation to the board on the winning bidders.
TFR offers deed of amendment to lift force majeure on coal exporters
State-owned Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) is encouraging coal export parties to sign a deed of amendment for the remaining term of a long-term agreement, which expires in March 2024, to lift its force majeure on them, which was declared owing to a severe shortage of operational locomotives. Transnet has held a number of discussions with the coal export parties relating to aspects of the contract that required attention to ensure the North Corridor – the heavy-haul line transporting coal and other commodities – remains competitive and sustainable.
Execujet South Africa showcasing latest aircraft in its fleet at AERO South Africa
Aircraft charter and aviation services company ExecuJet South Africa, part of the Luxembourg-based Luxaviation group, has highlighted that it will be showcasing the latest addition to its aircraft fleet, a Beechcraft King Air 260, at the AERO South Africa exhibition and air show, currently being held at Wonderboom National Airport in Pretoria. The King Air 260 is a twin-turboprop small passenger aircraft. “The Beechcraft King Air 260 is such a popular aircraft with the business community globally, and we’ll be offering this turboprop for charter in Africa for the first time,” said Luxaviation VP: Africa Gavin Kiggen. “New from the factory in 2022, and able to carry up to eight passengers, the aircraft will be based at Lanseria International Airport, near Johannesburg. From there, we’re expecting high demand for flights to locations including Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.”
Cable theft disrupts coal deliveries by rail to Majuba power station
Cable theft has critically constrained the delivery of coal by rail to the Majuba power station, as the portion of the rail network owned by State-owned power utility Eskom that feeds directly into Majuba has been severely damaged by the theft of overhead cables and critical overhead track equipment, reports State-owned Transnet Freight Rail (TFR). Eskom has been unable to restore the overhead track equipment, TFR says.
Tracking Provider OneStepGPS to Integrate with Trucker Tools
Agreement enables delivery of real-time tracking data from cab-installed electronic logging devices fitted with OneStepGPS units, into the Trucker Tools’ visibility platform. Enriches shipment visibility intelligence, enhances accuracy
Imaginnovate to triple workforce by next spring
Software staff needed to meet logistics industry demand
Please download your license and registration, uh, sir
New protocol lets self-driving trucks “talk” to law enforcement during traffic stops.
Sanral to restart, wrap up adjudication process on cancelled tenders by end September Sanral chairperson Themba Mhambi talks about the issues identified with the agency’s construction bid evaluation process. Video and editing: Kutlwano Matlala
The board of the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has instructed Sanral management to readvertise and award the R17.47-billion in tenders the board cancelled earlier in May, citing “material irregularities”, within the next four months. Speaking at a media conference in Centurion on Monday, Sanral board chairperson Themba Mhambi added that the board would recruit an independent public institution with infrastructure expertise to assist with the process to advertise and adjudicate the tenders, and to make a recommendation to the board on the winning bidders.
Sanral to implement temporary road closures on N3 for rock blasting
The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral), as part of the upgrade of the N3 from Cato Ridge to Dardanelles Cutting to an eight-lane carriageway, will implement rolling closures on the N3 national roads in both directions between the Umlaas road interchange and Cato Ridge interchange to minimise the delay of the traffic on the N3 national road during blasting. The blasting will be carried out on Tuesday, July 12, at 11:00, and on Thursday, July 14, at 11:00 should a second blast be required. All closures shall immediately be removed, as soon as the site of blasting has been declared safe, Sanral said on July 6.
Automakers ramping up investments into upstream nickel, cobalt
Market research firm Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research (Fitch Solutions) says automakers are increasing their upstream investments and supply contracts to secure enough battery metals, such as lithium, cobalt and battery-grade nickel, to drive forward their respective electric vehicle (EV) policies and to meet the decarbonisation targets set by governments globally. Since the start of 2021, 21 such investments have been made – 16 of which were investments into lithium.
Trucks block South African road to Mozambique as fuel costs surge
Protesters in a city in South Africa’s north east blocked roads including a highway linking the country to Mozambique with trucks Wednesday morning as they demonstrated against fuel prices rising to a new record. The road between Mbombela, 350 km east of Johannesburg, and White River has been obstructed by parked trucks, as is the N4 highway connecting the city to the border with Mozambique and the port of Maputo, Callum MacPherson, regional operations manager at Hi-Tech Security Nelspruit, said by phone. There is also a group of protesters moving around the blockades, he said.