[source](https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/c22815ce-b747-4e58-892b-3f0f04dcf4d1/content) The latest world wide assessment which grades port performance based on the average time a vessel spends in port. This is all about ship movement in and out of port and measured how efficiently cargo is loaded and off loaded through using time as a scoring metric. Time physically in the berth and not counting the waiting outside of the Port. If we cast an eye back to last year South Africa's ports being mainly Cape Town and Durban were placed in the bottom 3 with Durban placed in last spot. With that shocking report the Port of Durban had some upgrades and the government was quick to highlight how they had become the most improved container Port in the World improving its overall score by 479 points. The problem is if you are stone last any improvement would be that dramatic so not something you should be proud of because this only highlights how bad you were or still are as they moved two spots up now ranking 398 out of 400.

[source](https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/c22815ce-b747-4e58-892b-3f0f04dcf4d1/content) As you can see from the above chart Sub Saharan Africa namely South Africa has been in decline since 2020 and remains at the bottom of the rankings. If we look closer using two other graphs we can see where the performance drops off and shows a limitation in volume. Like anything the more you try to move the slower things become. It was no surprise when Maersk Shipping dropped Cape Town from their American Express route and all cargo now goes directly to Rotterdam before moving onwards to the US. MSC still kept this lifeline of a direct route to the US market open for now.

I am no expert on reading this data but from what I can see is the CPPI score which is time in Port vs the Global Supply Chains Stress Indicator is where they cross over. This is the sweet spot and highlights Cape Town can manage 80-100K containers per year in and out. Look at the peak period in 2023 as the volumes rose the Port basically came to a stand still and was at it's worst score with regard to efficiency. Durban which is the bigger more busier Port can move between 150 and 250K containers per year. Any more than these numbers which will have peak periods during the year then the Ports cannot cope. The same trend as Cape Town with the container numbers rising and the time slowing down also shows a Port not designed or capable of increasing the daily volumes. This 250K containers per year in and out sounds like big numbers ,but that is only 690 containers per day. This is nothing considering the large container vessels can carry between 18 000 and 24 000 TEU's. The Ports are seriously limited due to outdated infrastructure and no robotic systems. If one visits Durban the one thing you notice is how many vessels are anchored in the bay waiting for a berth to become available. Weather also plays a role in how efficient the Port operates as wind has always played a major factor in delays and these are very frequent. Compare those numbers I mentioned at 690 for Durban and then compare to Rotterdam which processes on average 38 000 30ft TEU's per day. This is more than 50 x what Durban can process and why the numbers and rankings for Cape Town and Durban are shockingly bad. The Cape Town graph also highlights that even though the volume stresses eased the vessel turnaround times still remained poor. This no doubt goes back to outdated equipment and reliability issues. The weather is a significant factor and the Port has undertaken a study to see how they can combat the downtime. Heavy investment is required to raise the standards expected of an international Port. Cape Town is ranked stone last on 400 out of 400 and Durban sits at 398th with Port Elizabeth sitting at 314 but is not nearly as important as the other two Ports in South Africa with regard to containers. The problem is the control of the Ports lies in a government company being Transnet who use cadre employment so the person in charge does not necessarily know or should I rather say guaranteed they do not know the job required and why this cannot be fixed. Posted Using [INLEO](https://inleo.io/@cryptoandcoffee/cppi-sp-global-latest-port-index-sa-ports-prop-up-the-bottom-bct)

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