Cape Town Container Terminal recorded the strongest year-on-year improvement among 403 ports in the latest Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), climbing 237.9 points to a score of -280.7, reported South Africa's Freight News.

Although still in negative territory, Cape Town's TEU-handling data for 2023/24 marked the best progress globally. The port rose from a previous ranking of 405 to 400, with Coega (Ngqura) also improving by 160.4 points to -283.5, placing fourth on the CPPI's top 20 list.

The index, compiled by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, noted that both ports remain in the lower performance range but have shown significant operational gains.

The CPPI data was collected before the commissioning of new anti-sway cranes at Cape Town. The World Bank's Open Knowledge Repository said the port had moved from worst-performing to one showing strong recovery, though it still faces delays and inefficiencies.

The South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) acknowledged the CPPI findings but urged caution in interpreting the results, noting the index does not account for landside logistics, customs, pricing, or service quality.

Saaff said the CPPI is a time-based measure focused on vessel time in port, normalised for ship and call size, and should be viewed as indicative rather than comprehensive.

Saaff, in partnership with Business Unity SA, compiles weekly Cargo Movement Updates to provide a broader view of port performance. It said it remains committed to working with Transnet, the national logistics network and the World Bank to complement the CPPI with multidimensional indicators.