DHL's Toby Maier Exposes Africa's Port Delays and Costs

Africa's maritime coastline features 179 ports, as noted in a continental transport database published in December. However, the presence of these ports does not guarantee affordable freight.

Before reaching a warehouse, shipping containers must navigate quay cranes, customs bureaucracy, and inland transport connections. Toby Maier, CEO for the Middle East and Africa at DHL Global Forwarding, states that trucks can spend up to seven days idling outside terminals due to structural delays.

This idling leads to increased costs from driver wages, fleet underutilization, and port storage fees. Maier emphasizes that Africa's high logistics costs are not due to a lack of berths but rather operational inefficiencies connecting ships, quaysides, customs, and distributors.

The African Transport Systems Database lists 179 ports and additional inland facilities, but these figures do not reflect throughput efficiency or handling capacity. Maier contrasts this with Abu Dhabi's efficient logistics, where container collection takes about 15 minutes.