Bulk exports, mostly iron ore, out of Saldanha Bay Harbour saw a 176,8% surge to 14,8 million tonnes year on year in January 2018, according to data from the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) released on Monday.
Bulk export volumes for all South African ports shot up 88,8% to a record 25,4 million tonnes, in part due to a carry-over from December, as the ports authority said there was a backlog from December for vessels that were not invoiced, due mainly to customers not submitting cargo dues on time.
However, if you add December 2017 and January 2018 together, and compare that with December 2016 and January 2017, then the increase is still a large 39,9% nationally.
Bulk exports out of Richards Bay, which are mostly coal, saw a 28,6% jump to 9 million tonnes, and Durban and Port Elizabeth rose by 45.2% in January to 1,6 million tonnes.
Source: Business Live