South Africa’s road transport industry “is definitely starting to feel the impact” of certain classes of cargo increasingly shifting to rail, says UD Trucks Southern Africa (UDTSA) corporate planning and marketing GM Rory Schulz.

“As government develops the various identified industrial corridors even further, the impact on the road freight industry will defi- nitely become more prominent.”

UDTSA is the local arm of the Japanese UD Trucks company, and assembles commercial vehicles at its plant in Rosslyn, near Pretoria.

Schulz says government’s recent economic blueprints have all included the freight rail sector as a strategic area of development, in an effort to increase the country’s transport efficiency.

In tandem with this effort, Transnet Freight Rail has announced a R201-billion investment in infrastructure and maintenance over the last number of years, as well as a seven-year market demand strategy plan, indi- cating a definite focus on the development of South Africa’s railway network and rolling stock, he adds.

Of the 1.7-billion tons of cargo moved around in South Africa during 2012, 88.5% was transported on road, compared with 11.5% of goods transported on rail, says Schulz.

Although rail’s portion is only up slightly from its comparative 11.1% share in 2010, projects like the new Transnet fuel pipeline between Durban and Gauteng are contributing to an ever increasing impact on the road freight industry, he notes.

These continued effects will, as a result, “have a dramatic impact on the truck industry’s market dynamics”, including a definite shift to smaller commercial vehi- cles to distribute broken-down bulk over shorter distances. This includes cargo such as white goods, manufacturing equipment and vehicle parts that are split up and transported to different destinations.

“We anticipate that road freight will remain important in the area of construction, agriculture, daily commodities, consumer goods, parcels and post, whereas rail will play a greater role in running automotive cargo, petroleum products, chemicals and containers, notes Schulz.

“As a company, UDTSA remains supportive of the government’s investment in the country’s rail networks, as we believe rail plays an integral role in establishing a better South African logistics network, while also enhancing the local economy.”

Grindrod CEO Alan Olivier earlier this month provided evidence of Schulz’s observations, when he noted that the freight and shipping company had been forced to restructure its Fuelogic fuel transport business, which provided a service to South Africa’s oil majors, following commissioning of the Transnet fuel pipeline.

The business now had to seek work in other Southern African markets, such as Mozambique.

Olivier said robust demand in Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia would underpin the fuel transportation business, “offsetting a decline in petrochemical [road] transport” in South Africa.