The ports in Cape Town and Ngqura (in the Eastern Cape) were the world's worst performing and least competitive in 2023, ranking 405th and 404th, respectively. A total of 405 ports were assessed in the US, Canada, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, Europe, Central and South America, the Caribbean Region and Africa.

South Africa's ports, operated by state-owned transport group Transnet, are in the spotlight once again for all the wrong reasons. They have been ranked at the very bottom in terms of global operational efficiency and competitiveness.

This is yet another indication that the recovery of Transnet's logistics operations is set to be a long haul after being hobbled by years of negligence, lack of maintenance and corruption.

Using data from 2023, the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence tracked the performance of 405 ports in the US, Canada, Central and South America, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, Europe, the Caribbean and Africa.

These ports were ranked in terms of efficiency through the Global Container Port Performance Index. The measure of efficiency looked at capacity or space utilisation at port terminals, costs paid by customers to move their goods through ports, and container loading and waiting times.

Ports in South Africa have been found seriously wanting as they ranked at the very bottom of the index.

The ports in Cape Town and Ngqura (in the Eastern Cape) were the worst performing and least competitive in 2023, ranking 405th and 404th, respectively. In other words,...