Container terminal performance in Cape Town and the Eastern Cape improved significantly in the week ending 1 November, contributing to a 20% increase in container throughput across South Africa’s ports.
Cape Town Container Terminal handled 18,886 TEU, up 76% week on week and reaching 126% of its weekly target. Ngqura Container Terminal handled 18,257 TEU, up 15%, while Port Elizabeth Container Terminal recorded the strongest percentage increase, with throughput rising 204% to 6,017 TEU.
Vessel conditions in Cape Town have also improved. Container vessels currently face no significant waiting time to berth, with the average waiting time over the last seven days remaining below one day. The published weekly operational data also showed an average anchorage time of just one hour at Cape Town Container Terminal.
Despite the positive waterside development, intermodal capacity remains constrained from Coega and Port Elizabeth. According to the local Kuehne+Nagel office, the influx of cargo being steered towards Coega, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town continues to put pressure on available inland transport capacity.
Durban, meanwhile, continues to face a substantial vessel backlog despite improving throughput. Average vessel waiting time has declined from 7.54 days in week 44 to around six days over the last seven days, with six vessels currently waiting at anchorage.
Overall, the Cape terminals are showing a clear operational improvement, particularly on the waterside, while intermodal capacity remains the key constraint to monitor.
