Investing in transport, logistics and infrastructure to improve the movement of goods is a key driver of economic growth, the ‘Avis Van Rental Movement Report 2018’ reveals.

Unpacking key report findings at the launch in Midrand, on Tuesday, Avis Movement Southern Africa commercial vehicles executive Rebone Motsatsi said 97% of private-sector respondents and 94% of respondents from the public sector who were surveyed for the report agreed that movement was a key economic driver.

“This applies across the business spectrum, to the private sector, State-owned enterprises and small, medium-sized and microenterprises. All require movement to deliver their services effectively,” he said.

He added that movement included everything from a one-man business run with a bakkie and a cellphone to a multinational corporation with a fleet of 18-wheelers.

The report also highlighted that mobility and economic growth enjoyed a mutually reinforcing, symbiotic relationship.

Motsatsi pointed out that respondents were almost unanimous that there was a strong correlation between economic growth and the ability to move goods and services.

“Despite the rise of the digital economy, at some point, physical goods need to be exchanged, and that’s when we see the importance of movement. It is also clear that business vehicle or fleet finance is an investment that goes directly into enabling the exchange of goods and services,” he said.

The report showed that South Africans see movement as a core gauge of the country’s economic status.

Motsatsi noted that the almost direct correlation between van rentals and economic growth implied that the movement of goods and services was not just a gauge of the health of an economy, it was an economic driver in its own right.

He pointed out that the movement of goods also carried many multiplier benefits.

“Movement implies fuel purchases, the products themselves will have been paid for, the vehicles have been hired or procured and the goods will most likely be resold through retail, processed or used as inputs in other commercial ventures,” he said.

He highlighted that it was not just movement itself, but how efficiently movement took place, that fuelled the economy.

“This means the better the road network and its maintenance, the more effective the transport businesses, and the more sophisticated the logistics solutions, the more smoothly the economy will run,” he said.