ECCAS’S INFRASTRUCTURE: A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE Corridor performance varies across Africa (table 2.1). Teravaninthorn and Raballand (2009) found that transport corridors in Central Africa perform significantly worse than the rest of Africa and are well below global standards. Only half of the regional road corridors are in good condition—significantly less than other parts of Africa—and trade density is lower. The implicit velocity of freight (when stops and delays are factored in) is only 6.1 kmph, similar to what is found in West Africa. Road freight tariffs, at $0.13 per tonne-km, are among the highest in the world. For example, transport prices on the Douala to Ndjamena route are three times higher than in Brazil and almost two times the cost of moving from Lusaka to Durban.

The Logistics Performance Index (LPI) from 2010<sup>1</sup> indicated that West and Central Africa performed slightly better than East Africa, which as of 2010 had amongst the worst trade logistics record in the world.<sup>2</sup> The LPI results revealed that transporters on trade corridors in Central (and West) Africa operated under regulatory systems that negatively impacted productivity and imposed additional burdens on landlocked countries.

Similar to West Africa, high road freight charges and very poor transport quality are in large part due to the cartelization of a trucking industry that operates in a highly restrictive regulatory environment. The strong presence of freight bureaus and transport associations influences the market and prevents truck operators from contracting with customers directly. Analysis of cost information provided by trucking firms indicates that the high road freight charges in the region are not attributable to higher costs but rather to larger profit margins made possible by limited competition within industry cartels. In the United States, freight transport prices average around $0.04 per tonne-km, compared with $0.11 per tonne-km along the Douala- Ndjamena corridor (USITC 2009).

The regulatory framework is based on market sharing and the centralized allocation of freight. This limits vehicle mileage (to around 2,000 km per month versus 12,000 in the developed world) and undermines incentives for investing in service quality. Hence, the truck fleet is largely composed of poorly maintained secondhand trucks that are typically overloaded to obtain maximum revenue from their restricted usage. There is typically excess supply, with too many vehicles chasing modest freight volumes. In southern Africa, by contrast, a much larger share of freight traffic is allocated through competitive bilateral contracts between clients and shippers.

The cartelization of the Central African trucking industry is at an extremely high level. For example, the truckers surveyed indicated that they were compelled to join truckers’ associations; without membership, getting a load would be far more difficult. In more deregulated environments such as those found in East Africa, being a part of a cartel or truckers’ association counts for less than the individual professionalism of a trucking company.

These considerations make the liberalization of the trucking industry an important step toward improving surface transport in Central Africa. Indeed, until the regulatory framework for the trucking

> 1 The LPI is an annual survey of international freight forwarders conducted in 155 countries. This survey aggregates the responses of survey participants to questions concerning several factors—such as transport, warehousing, and border clearance—into an index that is used to rank and rate global logistics for trade.

> 2 Most countries aggregated as ―West and Central Africa‖ by the LPI are countries that belong to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

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