Second-year sponsorship comes as the platform reaches 2 million TikTok views and expands its influence among South Africa’s road freight SMMEs

FNB and WesBank have renewed their sponsorship of the On The Road Podcast for a second consecutive year, backing the continued growth of one of South Africa’s most distinctive platforms dedicated to the road freight and transport SMME sector.

Hosted by Florence Musundwa, Convenor of the Road Freight SME Summit, On The Road has grown from a specialist industry podcast into a platform giving voice to the entrepreneurs, fleet owners, drivers and businesses that keep South Africa’s freight economy moving.

Florence Musundwa

The sponsorship renewal comes as the podcast reaches a significant new audience milestone, with more than 7,100 YouTube subscribers, past 300,000 YouTube views, more than 30,000 TikTok followers and 2 million TikTok views.

When the podcast entered its first sponsored year, it had approximately 800 YouTube subscribers and 2,700 TikTok followers.

The latest figures demonstrate not only audience growth, but a growing appetite for industry specific conversations that speak directly to the realities of running a transport business in South Africa and across the region.

In the 28 days to 5 October 2026, the YouTube channel recorded more than 18,500 views and approximately 1,600 hours of watch time, with nearly 58% of viewers not yet subscribed to the channel, indicating that On The Road continues to attract new audiences beyond its established community.

A Platform for the People Behind the Freight Economy

“Road freight is fundamental to the movement of goods across South Africa and the wider Southern African region, yet the experiences of the small and emerging operators who form an important part of the industry are often absent from mainstream business conversations,” explains Musundwa. “On The Road was created to change that.”

The podcast provides a platform where transport entrepreneurs can have candid conversations about cash flow, pricing, access to finance, fuel costs, fleet management, procurement, market access, regulation, cross border opportunities and the realities of building a sustainable transport business.

Its audience includes truck owners, drivers, fleet managers and other stakeholders across the road freight ecosystem. Approximately 65% of YouTube viewers are based in South Africa, with audiences also watching from Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Kenya.

Why FNB and Wesbank are Returning

The renewal reflects a strong strategic alignment between the issues explored on On The Road and the financial and operational realities facing transport businesses.

Transport operators operate in an environment where fuel costs, fleet costs, working capital and effective fleet management can directly determine profitability and business sustainability.

FNB Fleet Services, offered and serviced by WesBank, provides solutions designed to help operators manage these pressures, including the Auto Card, which enables secure payment for fuel, oil, tolls, repairs and maintenance, as well as Fleet Online, which provides fleet owners with information to manage and monitor fleet costs.

The decision to continue the partnership reflects the value of meeting transport entrepreneurs where they are: in an environment where practical information, access to the right financial tools and informed conversations can make a material difference to business outcomes.

From Industry Challenges to Industry Opportunities

One of the defining characteristics of On The Road is its willingness to tackle difficult conversations rather than simply celebrate success stories.

Through its flagship The Reality series, the podcast has explored issues including:

• Rising fuel prices and their impact on transporters
• Cash flow, pricing and financing in trucking businesses
• Fleet management and profitability
• Procurement, public procurement reform and corruption
• The rule of law in road freight and illegal truck drivers
• Cross-border trade between South Africa and Botswana
• Rail reform and its implications for road freight
• Last mile delivery and opportunities for small courier businesses

Guests have included Gavin Kelly (The Road Freight Association), Lebo Letsoalo (African Women in Supply Chain Association and Sincpoint), Gary Marshall (SA Express Parcel Association (SAEPA), Kamogelo Mampane (Supply Chain Council SA), Jonathan Mphake, Joshua Kadish, Mesela Nhlapo (Africa Rail Industries Association), Rogers Rasetapa and Khaya Mahlangu, Oliver Naidoo (JA Auditors), Thabo Moodie (Oricred), Reneiloe Semenya (Maysene Logistics), Malesela Tloana (Alter Clique Energy) and Tshepo Mokoa (Brima Investments), alongside transport business owners who have shared candid stories of setbacks, resilience and recovery.

Building a Stronger SMME Voice in Road Freight

For Musundwa, the growth of On The Road demonstrates the need for platforms that do more than report on the transport sector. “I started On The Road because the people who keep this country moving needed a platform where they could have honest conversations about what it really takes to build and run a transport business. The response has shown us that the industry was waiting for this conversation.”

“For me, the significance of FNB and WesBank returning for a second year goes beyond sponsorship. It demonstrates that there is value in investing in platforms that understand the lived realities of entrepreneurs and create access to information, ideas and conversations that can help businesses grow.”

Musundwa believes the future of industry engagement will increasingly be shaped by platforms that allow audiences to access depth, expertise and authentic conversations on demand.

“Podcasts are becoming an important way for industries to talk to themselves. They allow people to hear from the people doing the work, understand different perspectives and access conversations when and where it suits them. We are building On The Road to become a platform that not only reflects the industry, but contributes to how the industry thinks about its future.”

Looking Ahead

The renewed partnership comes as On The Road enters its next phase of growth, with the platform continuing to expand its content across YouTube and TikTok and deepen its focus on the issues affecting transport entrepreneurs.

The ambition is clear: to build a platform that connects industry knowledge, entrepreneurial experience, financial education and market opportunity while creating a stronger and more informed voice for road freight SMMEs.

New episodes of On The Road Podcast are available on YouTube and TikTok.

A 25-year lease agreement between Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and Freeport Saldanha could pave the way for new industrial activity at the Port of Saldanha, with a potential investment pipeline valued at approximately R6.9 billion.

Signed on 8 October 2026, the agreement covers around 55 hectares in the port’s Southern Precinct. It provides a long-term framework for industrial development linked to South Africa’s only port-based Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

The investment pipeline includes projects under consideration across marine and bunkering services, industrial development and manufacturing, as well as energy infrastructure. These include potential liquefied natural gas (LNG) import and storage facilities.

The projects are not yet confirmed investments. However, the agreement creates a framework for attracting investors and developing industrial activity around the port.

Connecting Port Infrastructure with Industry

The agreement could have implications beyond the development of industrial land. Ports connect domestic production with international markets, while industrial activity alongside port facilities can create demand for freight, storage and supporting logistics services.

For Saldanha, the opportunity lies in connecting port infrastructure with businesses that rely on marine facilities, shipping and access to export markets.

Freeport Saldanha CEO Xola Sithole said the 25-year lease provides greater certainty for investors. The organisation aims to turn that certainty into signed investor leases, construction activity and employment in Saldanha Bay and the wider West Coast.

If the proposed projects progress, industrial expansion could generate additional demand for the movement of equipment, raw materials and finished products. The scale of that demand will depend on which projects secure investment and move into development.

Potential Growth Across Energy and Manufacturing

The sectors identified in the investment pipeline point to several possible areas of industrial expansion.

Marine and bunkering services could support activity linked to vessels calling at the port, while manufacturing projects could strengthen the connection between port facilities and production. Proposed LNG import and storage infrastructure represents another potential area of development.

Freeport Saldanha’s wider focus includes marine and offshore services, energy, logistics and warehousing, manufacturing and engineering, and agro-processing.

Each sector has different infrastructure and logistics requirements. Their development could influence the types of freight services, industrial facilities and supporting businesses needed around the port.

For now, the lease agreement is the immediate milestone. Individual projects still need to progress before their impact on freight volumes and logistics demand becomes clear.

Turning the Agreement into Industrial Activity

For TNPA, the agreement supports efforts to improve infrastructure utilisation, attract investment and strengthen the role of South Africa’s commercial ports as logistics hubs.

TNPA CEO Mohammed Abdool said the partnership is intended to strengthen the relationship between the Port of Saldanha and the SEZ, creating conditions for investment, exports and opportunities across the logistics value chain.

The next stage will be translating the agreement into investor commitments, development activity and operational projects.

For the supply chain, the significance of the lease will ultimately depend on what follows. New industrial facilities could expand demand for freight and supporting services, but those benefits will emerge only as projects secure investment and move towards implementation.

The agreement gives Saldanha a long-term framework for industrial development. Whether the R6.9 billion pipeline becomes a meaningful driver of freight and logistics activity will depend on how much of that potential moves from proposal to delivery.

South Africa’s road transport industry is entering a period of significant change, with rising operating costs, new energy technologies and rapid advances in digitalisation placing greater emphasis on efficiency, vehicle productivity and lifecycle costs. For truck and trailer body builder Serco, these trends are shaping both its view of the market and its innovation priorities for 2027.

Serco CEO Clinton Holcroft believes the next phase of commercial vehicle development will be increasingly influenced by the following interconnected themes: reducing vehicle weight and improving efficiency, the gradual adoption of alternative energy vehicles and the greater use of data and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve vehicle performance and uptime. 

“Transporters ultimately need vehicles that carry the maximum productive payload, are reliable, cost-effective to operate and spend as little time as possible off the road,” said Holcroft. “The technologies are changing, but those fundamental customer requirements remain the same,” said Holcroft.

He said 2026 was proving to be a demanding one for the logistics industry, with sharply higher diesel costs adding further pressure to already competitive operating conditions. “Serco has seen transporters respond by extending the operating life of existing equipment and placing increased emphasis on maintenance, reliability and vehicle utilisation. Fuel pressures intensified towards the latter part of the year with South African diesel prices rising sharply again in October, adding further impetus to the industry’s search for greater operating efficiency,” said Holcroft. 

Despite the difficult environment, Serco achieved marginal year-on-year improvement, recording more than 8% growth in repair sales, while continuing to broaden its dry-freight product offering and customer base.

The company also placed particular emphasis on reducing customer downtime. Its Johannesburg facility was expanded during the year, adding capacity for both after-sales repairs and new-body manufacturing, with further improvements to the facility and layout under review. 

“In a difficult operating environment, keeping existing equipment productive becomes increasingly important,” said Holcroft. “Our focus has therefore not only been on manufacturing new vehicles but also on improving the speed and efficiency of our repair services to help customers reduce downtime.”

Holcroft expects the drive towards lower tare weight and improved aerodynamics to accelerate, regardless of the vehicle’s power source.

The benefit for a conventional fleet is the potential for improved payload and fuel efficiency. For battery-electric vehicles, weight becomes particularly important because body specification needs to balance payload, durability and vehicle range.

Serco has already started applying lightweight construction principles to truck bodies built for electric vehicles (EVs) introduced into the South African market this year. 

“With electric vehicles, every kilogram becomes increasingly important. The challenge for body builders is not simply to make a body lighter. It is to reduce weight intelligently while maintaining the strength, durability and practicality customers expect.”

Serco therefore forecasts continued development in areas including composite materials, high-strength lightweight steels, aluminium construction and aerodynamic body design. The company plans to further develop its EV body range during 2027 while continuing research into materials and designs capable of reducing tare without compromising durability. 

Holcroft believes electric commercial vehicles will become increasingly relevant to selected South African transport applications as vehicle choice expands and the commercial case improves.

However, Holcroft cautions that adoption will not happen overnight. “Electric trucks need to make operational and commercial sense for the fleet. Range, payload, charging infrastructure, vehicle utilisation, support and total cost of ownership – all have to be considered. As those elements improve, we expect more transporters to evaluate where EVs can fit successfully into their operations.”

Serco expects its role to remain centred on helping operators extract maximum value from whichever vehicle platform they select by developing bodies that combine low tare weight, durability, load-carrying capability and practical operating features. 

Another major development Holcroft sees gathering momentum is the convergence of trailers, telematics, sensors and AI.

Trailers are already increasingly capable of generating operational information through technologies such as real-time load monitoring, tyre-pressure monitoring, temperature tracking and door-opening alerts. Serco sees the next opportunity as converting more of this information into actionable insight, including proactive maintenance and fleet optimisation. 

“The opportunity is for the trailer to evolve from simply being an asset that carries freight into an intelligent asset that provides operators with useful information about its condition and operation.”

Serco is currently evaluating new features using telematics and sensors to support proactive trailer maintenance as well as camera technologies aimed at reducing vehicle damage during docking and unloading operations. 

AI could also increasingly influence the engineering process. Serco sees potential for AI-assisted tools to help engineers analyse load patterns, optimise structural designs, reduce material usage and improve stress and fatigue analysis. 

Rather than positioning AI as a replacement for engineering expertise, Holcroft believes its value will lie in augmenting engineering capability and accelerating innovation.

“The exciting opportunity is combining the experience of our engineers with increasingly sophisticated digital tools. If we can design lighter and stronger products, identify maintenance requirements earlier and give fleet operators better information, technology translates into real customer value.”

Looking ahead, Serco expects trading conditions to remain challenging while fleet operators continue to manage high operating costs and ageing equipment. At the same time, the need to replace overextended vehicles should create opportunities for newer, more efficient and reliable equipment.

Against this backdrop, Serco’s priorities for 2027 will include further development of its lightweight and EV-ready body range, continued research into advanced materials, greater integration of telematics and smart technologies, further improvements in repair turnaround times, and development of the skills required for an increasingly digital and electrified transport industry. 

“We don’t believe innovation should be about technology for technology’s sake,” Holcroft concluded. “For our customers, innovation must translate into better payload, lower operating costs, increased uptime, improved safety and longer asset life. That is where we see the greatest opportunity for Serco as the transport industry evolves.”

Clinton Holcroft, CEO of Serco (Pty) Ltd