South African trucking slow to resume after protests add to producers' woes

Road freight in South Africa has been slow to return to normal operations following demonstrations on Tuesday July 7 in which vehicles were set alight and drivers threatened, adding to the Covid-19-related problems that have affected the country's logistics.

The transportation of freight in South Africa has remained limited after Tuesday's protests against the employment of non-South African drivers and calls for improved conditions for the country's own truckers.
Miners' trucks were toppled or set alight and drivers threatened, with demonstrators seeking to enforce a shutdown of the nation's road freight system.
The target of the demonstrations was all road freight, and was not focused on the mining sector, which includes chrome, manganese ore and andalusite. But if road transport does not return to normal, it could threaten mining export shipments due to leave in July, according to one miner.
"We are moving material again, but slowly," one chrome miner told Fastmarkets.

"I would say things are slightly better than yesterday. However, South Africa is still a mess because...

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