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REVIEW OF DURBAN PORT OPERATIONS 2013. Statement: the 2013 citrus season in the Durban port was fraught with logistical problems from the onset of the season. Congestion, bottlenecks and inefficiencies led to massive losses (Cost and Quality) being incurred.
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REVIEW OF DURBAN PORT OPERATIONS 2013 Statement: the 2013 citrus season in the Durban port was fraught with logistical problems from the onset of the season. Congestion, bottlenecks and inefficiencies led to massive losses (Cost and Quality) being incurred...
Overview of Some of the Symptomatic Problems Herewith an overview of the symptomatic problems encountered in the Durban port for the 2013 season: • The PPECB inspection data suggests there has potentially been a 10% increase in citrus production from the northern region of ~5 million cartons YTD, • Early season Grapefruit arrived in port from week 16 with a strong focus to Japan, this was mostly directed to the FPT facility which became bottlenecked, • Navel (late) production appeared to be higher than previous years with earlier production of Valencia’s between week 28 – 31. • Durban has potentially handled 57,000 additional pallets YTD, Maputo decreased by an estimated 25,000 pallets. • Cold store capacity in Durban has factually decreased, • In 2010 Durban cold store capacity = 62,500 slots • In 2013 Durban cold store capacity = 52,500 slots (333 Logistics decreased by 6,000 slots, 328Ice did not handle citrus in 2013 a loss of 6,000 slots). • In 2012 introduction of 1,000 slots at SAFT Bayhead, • In 2013 introduction of 1,000 additional slots at CCS Bayhead. • Durban suffers from infrastructural inadequacy, • All cold stores that receive citrus in the Durban area are located in busy industrial zones. This obstructs the free movement of inbound trucks and containers to facilities, often leading to congestion and grid lock, • Only two cold stores in Durban are equipped with mobile racking, fixed type drive-in racking is not suited to citrus containerization due to order picking, • Some cold stores are affected by the ‘High Cube’ pallet syndrome in which there are inadequate slots – cold stores are having to remove top layers, store and then rebuild the pallet at load out.
Overview of Some of the Symptomatic Problems Herewith an overview of the symptomatic problems encountered in the Durban port for the 2013 season: • The railings data suggests that there are approximately 350-400 road trucks that arrive in Durban loaded with citrus per day. There is no management and coordination of trucks being routed into Durban thus leading to frequent periods of congestion, • An increase in DAFF inspections caused severe bottlenecks due to the backlog of railings to be cleared from intake areas making way for new railings to be received efficiently, • Inspections for CBS RMS protocols i.e. 4 days from PPECB inspection to arrival in port, • Increased inspections for protocol markets (steri shipments) i.e. China, • Lack of DAFF resources to adequately conduct the required inspection rates, • High number of problematic or erroneous consignments with document problems, incorrect sample document, incorrect labelling and packaging of cartons for specific markets. • The PPECB data suggests there has been a 25% increase in the number of containers that have been routed out of the port in 2013 YTD. It is possible that there will be 6,000 additional containers that would be routed out of Durban. Containerization by virtue leads to operational problems, • Lack of integrity of supply from the various container depots to cold stores disrupts operations, • Most container depots are not operational 24/7, limiting container supply to cold stores, • The sheer number of trucks carrying containers that arrive simultaneously at cold stores lead to congestion and delays, • In 2013 there have been frequent occurrences of a lack of plug-in points at DCT and added to this frequent wind delays. Both these problems led to container trucks being delayed at DCT and therefore cannot deliver full containers to DCT, in turn preventing empty containers being collected and transported to cold stores.
Overview of Some of the Symptomatic Problems Herewith an overview of the symptomatic problems encountered in the Durban port for the 2013 season: • DCT Pier 1 & 2 and Maydon Wharf vessel stacks for the receiving of containers at the terminals frequently firm in parallel causing a demand for a high volume of containers to be packed at the cold stores over a 3-4 day period. Cold stores are unable to complete the required volume of containers to be packed per vessel per stack. The inability for cold stores to load out as required causes capacity constraints, • There are 12 main reefer container services from the Durban port, when stacks open in parallel for many of these services at once, it creates operational problems. This is a weekly occurrence in Durban, • The SAECS and MSC Europe services receive up 1,000 containers a week between the two arriving vessels. Stacks for these two specific services overlap continuously thus creating a demand for a high volume of reefer containers to be packed over a 3-4 day period, • CGA initiated a teleconference between DCT and industry to try resolve these continual problems, there was no change to the status of stacks opening in parallel.
Overview of Some Possible Resolutions Herewith an overview of proposals to potentially overcome the continual logistical problems encounted in Durban: • Implementation of CGA Logistics and Infrastructure Proposals: • Development of a Joint Planning Tool, Logistics Park and Central Control Centre for Durban, see: CGA – Durban Integrated Transport Management System (ITMS) Proposal, • Revitalization of Maputo for citrus exports, see: CGA – Maputo Port Review 2013, Prospects for Citrus Exports, • Expand the use of rail transportation of reefer containers from the Limpopo province, see: CGA – Rail Transportation Review 2013, Prospects for Citrus Exports, • Development of a cold store in Durban or the adaption of an existing cold store with the ability to meet the operational demands of containerization, • Location suitable to allow efficient access, • Mobile racking for better operational efficiency meeting the demands for containerization, • A mirror image of the Coega port development – cold store and container depot located side by side, • The packing and pre-staging of reefer containers prior to stacks, • This permits a continuous flow of containers to be packed not limited to stack dates, • Some exporters choose to do this to ensure continuity in throughput at cold stores, • Encourage Durban cold store groups to reach an agreement on possible shared slot utilization. i.e. steri capacity, • Reach out to packhouses for correctness and accuracy of consignments , sample documentation, carton labelling and packaging.
Overview of Some Possible Resolutions Herewith an overview of the proposals to potentially overcome the continual logistical problems encounted in Durban: • DAFF to assess the resource requirements in Durban to adequately meet the demands to prevent operational bottlenecks, • Work alongside DCT to implement measures to better facilitate citrus container exports through Durban, • DCT Pier 1 & 2 and MW to increase plug-in capacity in accordance with the demand, • Implement stack planning techniques to improve the throughput of reefer containers in Durban, • Address infrastructural and operational challenges leading to delays in receiving citrus reefers, • Implement a central container loading forecast database to be issue to DCT and stakeholders daily – planning, • A proposal is to be tabled with DCT to host an end of season workshop to address the current challenges and identify possible areas for improvement. • Encourage producers in the northern region to pack citrus into containers at the packhouses directly and/or through central inland cold stores. • The EC and WC regions have been doing this for the past few years.
