South Africa’s transport and logistics SMEs will converge at the 4th Annual Access Road Freight SME Summit 2026, taking place on 21–22 October 2026 at the Indaba Hotel, Fourways, Johannesburg.

Under the theme “Unlocking Working Capital: Practical Strategies. Stronger Cash Flow. Sustainable Growth for SMEs,” the two-day Summit will bring together SME operators, fleet owners, transport professionals, financial institutions, industry leaders, policymakers and service providers to address one of the most pressing challenges facing the sector: access to and effective management of working capital.

Florence Msundwa: Founder and Convener – Road Freight SME Summit 

According to Florence Musundwa, host of the Road Freight SME Summit, the event was built to move beyond the traditional funding conversation. “Access to capital remains a real constraint for transport SMEs, but this Summit is about helping operators optimise cash flow, unlock the value of assets they already have, and build commercially sustainable businesses,” Musundwa says.

Unlocking Working Capital

For many transport SMEs, access to capital remains a significant constraint. However, the 2026 Summit will go beyond the traditional conversation around funding to examine how SMEs can optimise cash flow, unlock the value of their existing assets and build commercially sustainable businesses.

Key discussions will focus on:

• Capital Access in a High-Risk Industry: Unlocking working capital and scaling beyond survival.
• Beyond Cashflow: Using purchase-order finance to scale loads, fleets and revenue capacity.
• The Real Cost of Your Fleet: Route profitability, margin audits and data-driven fleet decisions.
• Future-Proofing SME Fleets: OEM strategy, asset financing and commercial vehicle innovation.

“The programme will also unpack practical strategies and digital solutions to help transport businesses strengthen cash flow, improve operational efficiency and make better commercial decisions,” adds Musundwa.

Senior Industry Leaders at the Table

The 2026 Summit brings together an impressive line-up of industry leaders, executives and decision-makers, including:

• Lwazi Mboyi — Chief Executive Officer, Cross-Border Road Transport Agency
• Maphefo Anno-Frempong — Chief Executive Officer, Transport Education Training Authority (TETA)
• Unathi Kildase — Vice President Operations, Game Africa Massmart

• Siyabonga Gule — Founder, Beapo
• Dewald Brand— Contract Success Executive, RNR App
• Musa Ndlovu— National Secretary,  National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI)
• Stevie Ferreira— Founder, TruckFuelNet (TFN)
• Jonathan McDonald — Vice President, South African Freight and Logistics Association (SAFLA)
• Oliver Naidoo — Managing Director, JC Auditors
• Mesela Nhlapo — Chief Executive Officer, African Rail Industry Association (ARIA)
• Jedd Harris — Chief Strategy Officer, Sourcefin
• Lee-Anne Vermeulen — National Manager: Commercial, Cross-Border Road Transport Agency
• Thabo Moodie — Chief Operations Officer, Oricred
• Dr Paulina Mamogobo — Chief Economist, naamsa| The Automotive Business Council
• Khaya Mahlangu — Managing Director, Cogash Rentals

A featured session will include Stevie Ferreira, Founder of TFN, presenting “From Building TFN to Building What’s Next”, with a focus on optimising working capital and strengthening SME cash flow.

A Platform Built Around Access

Musundwa says the Summit was founded on a simple objective: building access to the relationships, knowledge, markets, finance and opportunities SMEs need to grow. “Access to finance alone isn’t enough. Businesses also need access to customers, procurement opportunities, credible financial solutions, industry intelligence, technology and the decision-makers shaping the sector’s future,” she says.

Strong Industry Support

The 2026 Summit is supported by leading organisations across the sector. Sponsors and partners include FNB, WesBank, TETA, Santam, Absa, Sasol, the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA), Isuzu and Sourcefin.

Who Should Attend?

• Transport and logistics SMEs
• Fleet owners and transport operators
• Logistics and supply-chain professionals
• Industry stakeholders
• Investors and financiers
• OEMs and asset-financing providers
• Service providers
• Policymakers and government stakeholders

Event Details

Event: 4th Annual Access Road Freight SME Summit 2026

Theme: Unlocking Working Capital: Practical Strategies. Stronger Cash Flow. Sustainable Growth for SMEs.

Date: 21–22 October 2026

Venue: Indaba Hotel, Fourways, Johannesburg

Time: 07:30–16:00 daily

Delegate Fee: R2,500 excluding VAT

Website: www.smeroadfreightsummit.co.za 

Email: [email protected] 

Strong winds regularly disrupt operations at the Port of Cape Town, creating delays that can extend well beyond the harbour. Transnet is now considering wind shields, combined with improved weather forecasting and predictive modelling, as part of an effort to reduce these interruptions and keep cargo moving.

The proposal comes as the port continues to look at ways of improving its ability to operate during adverse weather. The focus is not on eliminating the effect of strong winds, but on reducing the amount of time they prevent equipment from operating safely.

That matters because lost operating time at a major port can quickly become a problem for exporters, shipping companies and businesses further along the supply chain.

Why Strong Winds Disrupt Port Operations

Much of the work at a container port depends on large pieces of equipment, including ship-to-shore cranes, operating safely.

When wind speeds reach certain levels, those operations may have to be restricted or stopped. The resulting delays can affect when cargo is loaded and unloaded and, in turn, when vessels are able to leave the port.

A disruption to one operation can also affect the schedule of others.

For exporters, the consequences can be significant. Cargo may already have been transported to the port, prepared for export and scheduled for loading. When operations are interrupted, those goods can remain in the system for longer, creating uncertainty around delivery times and additional pressure on transport and storage arrangements.

The Wind Shield Proposal

Transnet is considering wind shields as one way of reducing the impact of strong winds on port operations.

The concept is relatively straightforward: strategically placed barriers could reduce wind speeds in areas where equipment is operating, potentially allowing some activities to continue safely for longer during periods of adverse weather.

The objective is not to make the port immune to wind. Instead, the proposed infrastructure is intended to reduce the frequency or duration of stoppages caused by conditions that currently prevent equipment from operating.

That could give the port more usable operating time, particularly during periods when strong winds would otherwise restrict activity.

Forecasting Matters Just as Much

The physical wind shields form only part of the proposed approach.

Transnet National Ports Authority has been working with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on a wind study and predictive modelling for the Port of Cape Town.

The work is designed to improve understanding of how wind conditions affect port operations and provide more localised information that can support operational decisions.

The Western Cape Government reported in February that the forecasting model had been tested and integrated into the port’s operational support system. The system provides localised wind forecasts and information intended to assist Port Control when making decisions about operations.

The practical benefit is better preparation.

Accurate forecasting can give port operators more warning of potentially disruptive conditions, allowing them to adjust operations and plan around periods of severe wind rather than reacting once a disruption has already occurred.

Why Exporters Feel the Impact

The effects of a port disruption are not confined to the port.

Take an agricultural exporter. Produce may have been harvested, packed, transported to Cape Town and prepared for loading onto a vessel bound for an overseas market. If strong winds interrupt operations, the shipment can be delayed even though every previous stage of the journey has been completed.

That delay can affect schedules, transport planning, storage and the timing of when goods reach their destination.

The Western Cape Government has highlighted fruit exports in particular when discussing the need to reduce weather-related disruption at the port.

For products where timing and condition are critical, improving the consistency of port operations can have a direct commercial benefit.

More Than an Infrastructure Problem

Wind is only one of the factors affecting port performance, which is why the proposed response goes beyond the construction of physical barriers.

The broader work includes forecasting, operational procedures and planning for periods when weather prevents normal activity.

That combination is important. Better infrastructure can reduce the impact of strong winds, but better information can help operators decide how to use the available operating time and prepare for disruption when it cannot be avoided.

The Western Cape Government’s stakeholder work has also identified the need for clearer procedures around stopping and restarting operations and for alternative measures during extended weather disruptions.

A Practical Response to a Recurring Problem

The proposed wind shields are a targeted response to a problem that repeatedly affects the Port of Cape Town.

Rather than treating every weather-related stoppage as unavoidable, the approach is to reduce the effect of strong winds where possible and improve the information available to the people running the port.

For exporters and other businesses that depend on the port, the outcome is ultimately straightforward: fewer disruptions, greater certainty and a more predictable route for getting goods to market.

That is the real value of the proposal. Not simply keeping cranes operating for longer, but reducing the number of times a weather event at the harbour becomes a problem for businesses hundreds or thousands of kilometres away.

Fuel cost on the rise – AGAIN

Fuel prices are set to increase sharply on Wednesday night at 24h00 – basically due to higher international prices.

In addition, there will be a further 4.9c a litre increase due to the wage increase for forecourt employees as well as a 21,9c a litre for the slate levy. This will see 93 ULP/LRP: at R26.76 per litre and 95 ULP/LRP at R26.92 per litre.

Diesel will climb to R29.11 per litre 500ppm (wholesale) and R30.05 per litre 50ppm (wholesale). Every litre of fuel consumed on South Africa’s roads affects the underlying health of the country’s logistics economy. Changes in fuel prices have a far-reaching effect on the country’s supply chain, transport systems, the wider logistics industry as well as the pricing of goods on store shelves.

This increase in the price of fuel is yet another reminder of just how highly susceptible the industry is to the volatility of global oil markets. As fuel prices rise, transport companies, fleet operators, and freight customers must brace for the pressure on operational costs.

Depending on the type of operation, routes, vehicles and specific conditions of the transport leg, fuel can be anywhere between 35% and 55% of operating costs. Fuel is one of the three largest operating costs in the transport industry, thus even small price fluctuations can have significant consequences. South Africa moves more than 80% of the land-based freight via road freight (and a large amount of the general freight on rail also uses diesel) – one can understand that highly volatile fuel prices have an effect far beyond the road freight industry.

Diesel at the Heart of Freight Costs

In the coming fuel price increase, both grades of petrol will increase by 5,27% whilst diesel will increase increased by 11,23% or 11,71%, depending on the amount of sulphur – resulting in an average of 11,35% increase on the cost base of between 35% and 55% as noted above.

Diesel fuels a great majority of freight movement in the country, from line haul trucks that link ports and distribution centres to small delivery vehicles supplying local markets.

Since almost every sector depends on road freight, the changes in diesel prices have an exponential and expanded effect on the logistics industry and, unfortunately, the impact of fuel costs is inevitable.

As noted earlier, fuel is one of the biggest variable expenses and it impacts both short – and long-distance operations – it affects all legs in a logistics chain, and some transporters will now face severe cash flow constraints.

Global Pressures Shaping Local Fuel Prices

Global fuel market dynamics play an enormous role in determining fuel prices – supply and demand remains very relevant in what the (global) customer is prepared to pay for a barrel of oil, as well as the perceived shortage that drives a buying spree and thus the price for a barrel. Secondly, as oil is primarily bought with US Dollars – the value of the Rand against the Dollar plays a further (in our case) role in more expensive fuel at the pump.

Unfortunately, the majority of the petroleum products (crude oil and refined petroleum products) consumed in South Africa is imported, and this directly results in the domestic fuel cost either rising or falling.

The September increase is primarily caused by the increasing global oil prices, geopolitical concerns, and the growing instability in the global supply of energy networks.

Political turmoil in major oil producing countries has now caused increased volatility to the market, which has led to worries about possible interruptions to the major distribution and transportation routes.

Oil markets typically react quickly to geopolitical risks, pushing crude prices higher and driving up the cost of refined fuel products downstream. For an economy like South Africa that imports oil, the outcome is often inevitable: higher domestic energy prices.

The ripple effect across logistics

Again, the fuel price increase does not end at the pump price:  once fuel prices increase, the cost of moving goods from production sites to distribution centres, and finally to retailers is all exposed to price increases.

Road freight plays a crucial role in the long-distance moving of goods among ports, factories, warehouses, and retail locations.

Freight companies need to remain financially viable, and thus transport companies must choose whether to increase their rates (by a variety of factors of either full fuel price increase or a percentage thereof), or whether they have the financial reserves to withstand the increases. The latter will place pressure on cashflow and reserves. Rate adjustments are often inevitable due to the recurring fuel price strain, even if some transport operators may temporarily withstand the cost to preserve contracts and relationships with clients.

How Operators are Managing Volatility

The transportation sector has grown increasingly defined by the volatility of fuel prices, and many transport companies adjust by reducing the volume of fuel used – fleet managers lever telematics technology, fuel choice, optimal routing software, driver training, new engine / vehicle technologies, congestion and standing time minimisation / avoidance and even load sharing.

Environmentally friendly driving techniques, better vehicle maintenance, and more sophisticated logistics planning are now essential resources for controlling operating expenses. 

Fuel adjustment methods have been incorporated in several transport contracts, enabling operators to partially compensate for the rapid price changes without disrupting long term commitments. These approaches may reduce the effects of the rising fuel prices; however, they are not sufficient to eradicate them.

Navigating an Uncertain Road Ahead

The fuel price increase in September illustrates how vulnerable the country’s transport sector is to international energy trends.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to completely rule out further fuel price increases. Already the indicators are that tensions in the Middle East will continue to place pressure on fuel prices, and it is important to note that the northern hemisphere is now heading towards winter which will increase demand for fuel.

Thus, the ongoing geopolitical tension, the surge in risk, coupled with the supply and demand factor will continue to float high fuel prices and adaptability will continue to be vital for South Africa’s freight sector.

Transport companies’ strategies for navigating this increasingly unstable operating environment will continue to be shaped by limiting fuel use, enhancing operational efficiency, and preparing for unpredictability.

One thing is certain: In a country that is dependent on road freight, such as South Africa, every adjustment in the price of diesel has consequences extending past the petrol pump, it goes deep into the transport systems that keep the country running.

Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association