SADC’S INFRASTRUCTURE: A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE Unlike in West and Central Africa, the trucking industry in southern Africa is advanced in terms of regulatory frameworks and logistics. The transport market and operations of southern Africa combine liberalization with enforcement of quality and load control rules applicable to all trucking operators. Operations in southern Africa are governed by bilateral agreements, which unlike in other parts of Africa prohibit the setting of quotas. These agreements facilitate the establishment of direct contracting between shippers and transporters, and create incentives for transporters to be more efficient.

Truck utilization levels are much higher in southern Africa than in West and Central Africa. For example, trucking companies in southern Africa are able to utilize their vehicles at a level of 10,000– 12,000 km a month—the level of European transporters—as compared with 2,000 km per month in West and Central Africa. The better truck utilization in southern Africa provides incentives for investments in service quality, including investments in better and newer trucking fleets relative to the rest of Africa. The Zambian trucking fleet, though generally old, manages to achieve a higher annual trucking mileage. Truck operators in southern Africa are not infamous for overloading trucks, unlike in West and Central Africa. At 20–60 percent, profit margins in southern Africa are much lower than in West Africa, where large profit margins averaging 80 percent negatively impact transport prices.

In southern Africa, transport costs are adversely impacted by the opportunity costs of delays at border crossings, weighbridges, and ports, and by lengthy customs processes. Simulations suggest that reducing border delays can reduce transport costs significantly. Delays at Beit Bridge (on the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe) and Chirundu (a border post between Zambia and Zimbabwe) have resulted in a significant economic drain. Beit Bridge is the busiest border post in the region, handling as many as 500 trucks a day; delays for northbound traffic are 34 hours and for southbound traffic 11 hours. Evidence from the Chirundu border indicates that it takes northbound traffic approximately 39 hours to cross the border and southbound traffic 14 hours. The total cost of trucks standing at these two border posts is over $60 million per year. When costs of standing at other borders—such as Groblersbrug/Martins Drift and Kazungula—are factored, the costs increase by as much as an additional $100 million per annum (Curtis 2009).

In large part, these delays are attributed to the complexity of the consolidated loads (loads with multiple consignors/consignees) being cleared, the variety of duty rates, and the fact that often only one clearing agent is involved. The northbound delays are significantly more than the southbound delays at the Chirundu border because the Zambian Revenue Authority takes on average 17.4 hours to process documents and inspect loads. Idle time for northbound loads is approximately 10.9 hours per trip due to delays in document handling upon truck arrival, border clearance, and driving (Curtis 2009). More recently, there have been significant efforts to reduce border delays and subsequent transport costs at these borders.

Administrative costs and times associated with moving freight across borders are significant and include lengthy documentation time and high customs clearance fees and terminal handling charges. A Mozambican company entering Zimbabwe must pay a road user fee of $25 per 100 kilometers, an entry visa that costs approximately $30 for a month, and a guarantee of $120 per year (USITC 2009). These administrative costs add greatly to the costs of trade.

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