LOGISTICS NEWS ON FASTMOVING

The South African supermarket chain, Shoprite, which invested its business in the country some years ago has dismissed recent speculations regarding the imminent closure of some of its stores and possible exit from Tanzania for good. read more

Diversified company Lifestyle Holdings has introduced a TN Virtual Mart — where it will deliver groceries to its clientele’s doorstep, as competition in the country’s retail sector intensifies. read more

A Namibia Trade Forum official has defended proposed government plans to grant interim protection to the local broiler industry against cheap imports.  read more

Beijing - Manufacturing activity slowed in China in April as exports were hit by sluggish overseas demand, HSBC said on Tuesday, fuelling concerns about the strength of the world's second-largest economy. read more

Fabupharm Products, a wholly-owned Namibian pharmaceutical manufacturer, has doubled in size over the past year. Subsequent to upgrading its manufacturing facility to comply with international standards, Fabupharm announced recently it has received an Official Manufacturing GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) License from the Namibian Medicines Regulatory Council (NMRC). This means that Fabupharm is now licensed to manufacture scheduled medicinal products. read more

Nsoko Msele sugar mill project to rejuvenate Swaziland’s vital export crop A fourth sugar mill announced for Swaziland, the Nsoko Msele integrated sugar milling project, would significantly increase production of refined sugar, the country’s main source of export revenue, the project’s shareholders said this week. read more

Local market analysts have lauded NSX listed Namibia Breweries Limited for posting solid interim results for the period ended 31 December 2012. read more

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Smart Connected Device Tracker, worldwide shipments of smart connected devices grew 29.1% year over year in 2012, crossing 1 billion units shipped with a value of $576.9 billion.  read more

Johannesburg - South African corn futures fell the most in almost two weeks after the weather service forecast rains over the country’s main growing regions.  read more

Johannesburg - South African corn futures dropped most in more than a week as the rand appreciated against the dollar, lowering the cost of imported grains relative to local produce. read more

Lonrho’s Oceanfresh Seafoods, local purveyor of fresh and frozen seafood, has recently been listed in Sam’s Club stores in the US.  read more

Dairy producer Clover is investigating the possibility of moving its cheese facility closer to milk sources at the coast. This would save on transport and distribution costs, the firm said this week. read more

VENTURES AFRICA – Barloworld Logistics, a unit of the JSE-listed diversified industrials giant, Barloworld Goup, is expanding its specialised logistics solutions to the Arab states of the Gulf, it said on Monday. read more

Johannesburg - The South African economy needs a larger manufacturing sector in order to improve employment, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Thursday.  read more

New York - Hostess is moving ahead with plans to sell its Twinkies and other snack cakes to two investment firms after no other competitive offers were made. read more

Johannesburg - Transnet might have to cut its planned R300bn capital expenditure programme by R50bn if economic growth proved disappointing or strikes affected the sector‚ CEO Brian Molefe said on Monday. read more

Grindrod shares rose to their highest level in more than four years yesterday as investors bet on earnings growth driven by diversification into ports and terminals. read more

Johannesburg – International brewing giant SABMiller [JSE:SAB] is planning to break ground in April this year with the construction of its planned 260 000 hectolitre brewery in Namibia. read more

Harare - Zimbabwe is working on putting stringent measures on meat imports from South Africa amid concerns of contaminated meat products from the country.  read more

A wine company bearing the name of the former president Nelson Mandela has been established in the United States, the Sunday Sun reported. read more

Johannesburg - Clover Industries [JSE:CLR] and Nestlé SA on Friday announced the formation of the new entity‚ called Clover Waters.  read more

Johannesburg - Shares of Grindrod [JSE:GND] rose more than 2% after the shipping firm posted a 22% rise in full-year earnings, beating market expectations. read more

Lusaka - Zambia will be careful not to fall back into unsustainable levels of debt as state-owned firms look to borrow from international markets to invest in infrastructure projects, Deputy Finance Minister Miles Sampa said on Tuesday. read more

Johannesburg - South African corn futures fell to the lowest in more than eight months as the rand gained against the dollar on February 1, reducing the cost of imports. read more

The Abraaj Group, one of the world’s leading private equity investors in global growth markets has announced an investment in Vine Pharmaceuticals, the largest pharmacy retail chain in Uganda.  read more

The UK remains Australia’s biggest wine export market, increasing by three per cent in 2012 according to a report released by Wine Australia. read more

Geneva - The World Trade Organization on Monday established a dispute resolution panel to probe allegations of unfair trade practices lodged against Argentina by the United States, the EU and Japan. read more

Cape Town – Brandhouse, one of South Africa’s leading alcoholic beverage companies, wants National Treasury and Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan to refrain from using the words sin tax when referring to excise duties on alcoholic products.  read more

The year 2012 started off on a negative note with exports in January and February declining by 4 and 9 per cent respectively, compared to the corresponding months in 2011. However, exports have since picked up and as at November 2012, exports of Export Oriented Enterprises (EOEs) recorded a growth compared to January to November 2011. read more

Zambia will record an economic growth rate of 7.3 per cent this year, slightly higher than the 2011 growth rate of 6.8 per cent, the World Bank has projected.  read more

Berlin - More evidence of sliding German exports and industry orders on Tuesday compounded concerns that the eurozone crisis may have battered the region's largest economy into contraction at the end of last year. read more

East African Breweries Limited (EABL) will invest Sh4.3 billion in expanding capacity at its Ruaraka-based plant as it seeks to increase efficiency.  read more

South Africa’s Woolworths will hold a 51 per cent stake in a joint venture it has formed with Kenya’s Deacons, giving it control in the operations of the new company. read more

The worldwide smart connected device market – a collective view of PCs, tablets, and smartphones – grew 27.1% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12) reaching a record 303.6 million shipments valued at $140.4 billion. read more

Abuja - Nigeria's consumer inflation rose to its highest in four months in November as the impact of the country's worst flooding in 50 years pushed up the cost of food, data showed on Monday. read more

E-tolling of Gauteng freeways got the legal nod on Thursday when the High Court in Pretoria dismissed an application to have the project scrapped. read more

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed diversified entity Meikles Limited is this week set to unveil is its second state-of-the-art Pick ’n’ Pay supermarket bringing to two such branches in the country. read more

Japan - on Monday confirmed that the world's third-largest economy shrank in the three months to September, stoking fears the country is slipping into a recession. read more

Mumias Sugar has warned consumers of a looming sugar shortage that could push the retail prices up.  read more

SABMiller Plc (SAB) raised 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) from its first sale of bonds in the currency in three years as companies from G4S Plc (GFS) to TeliaSonera (TLSN) AB tapped into Europe’s credit-market rally.  read more

Hot on the heels of a sturdy operating profit announcement earlier this month, the Oceana Group, the biggest seller of canned fish in South Africa, reported that it had “zero” strikes in the past year, which was testimony to its good industrial relations. read more

Windhoek – American-based Walmart has dispatched a team from its British subsidiary, ASDA Walmart, to look at the quality of Namibia’s agricultural products. read more

The e-tag system will be rolled out at toll plazas in provinces other than Gauteng, Sanral said on Wednesday. read more

TORONTO — Walmart Canada revealed its newest addition to its freight division, a “supercube” tractor-trailer that will carry 40 percent more cargo. read more

Copenhagen - Danish toy company Lego is likely to disappoint some of its young fans as it is struggling to meet strong demand ahead of the upcoming Christmas sales season, a report said on Friday. read more

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens said Tuesday that it is beginning its recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The retailer said that it is working to provide its stores with what they need to again serve customers in areas impacted by the storm. read more

HiFi Corp, a provider of electronic, audio and visual products, has launched its new e-commerce store, taking its range of services online. read more

By sourcing raw materials directly from farmers in Africa, beer producer SABMiller is cutting costs while also winning the support of local communities. read more

Johannesburg - Shares of luxury goods retailer Richemont [JSE:CFR] fell as data showed Swiss watch exports dropped for the first time in two-and-a-half years in September, hit by slowing Chinese demand. read more

Global PC shipments totalled 87.5 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a decline of 8.3% compared with the third quarter of 2011, according to preliminary data compiled by IT research and advisory company, Gartner. read more

Cape Town - South Africa on Thursday said it wants to avoid a tit-for-tat alcohol import war with Britain over increased bulk wine sales that have cost jobs in the local bottling industry. read more

Johannesburg - A three-year wage deal was set to be signed on Friday morning to end the countrywide truck driver strike, the Road Freight Employers Association said. read more

Johannesburg - The South African fruit industry appealed to the SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu) on Wednesday not to involve railway and port workers in the on-going freight industry strike.  read more

The Eastern Cape roads and public works department spent more than R1 billion repairing roads damaged by floods, according to a report. read more

Johannesburg - Negotiations to end a two-week labour dispute between most truckers and employers ended without an agreement on Tuesday.  read more

The Indian government’s decision Friday to let big department stores like Wal-Mart Stores into the country could dramatically impact everything from the country’s food chain to its roads.  read more

Cape Town - According to the latest statistics from the Central Energy Fund, consumers could be in for another shock with the petrol price rising again by 37 cents a litre, bringing it to just over R12/litre, TimesLive reported on Monday. read more

Johannesburg - Drugs maker Aspen Pharmacare [JSE:APN] booked a 22% rise in full-year profit, helped by a robust showing in its Asia-Pacific unit.  read more

The transformation of Makro’s Midrand distribution centre into a modern facility with an additional 11 000m² of warehousing space has been completed by Investec Property.  read more

While online sales still account for a very small proportion of its overall turnover, retailer Woolworths is gearing up towards a change in the online landscape. read more

Wednesday’s hefty 93c/litre petrol price hike is likely to hit consumers hard – and not just at the fuel pumps. The Minerals and Energy Department announced the biggest fuel price hike this year on Friday, prompting AA spokesman Gary Ronald to warn the hike would affect “absolutely everything”. read more

Johannesburg - Wage talks between four transport unions and the Road Freight Employers' Association (RFEA) deadlocked on Friday. read more

Johannesburg - Aspen Pharmacare Holdings [JSE:APN] said on Thursday that it expected its diluted normalised headline earnings per share from continuing operations to rise between 18% and 24% in the year ended June‚ from the previous comparable period. read more

After its first full year as a subsidiary of the US retail giant, Massmart's food business is looking much stronger.  read more

Super Group, the listed transport, logistics and automotive group, is set to finalise an acquisition by its supply chain business in the next few months. read more

Cape Town - The 3 500 tonne shipment of beef from Botswana expected to hit the South African meat market will be a boon to consumers but may not have SA beef producers jumping for joy. read more

Washington - US President Barack Obama urged members of Congress on Saturday to pass a farm bill that would help the agricultural sector cope with the most severe drought that has struck the United States in half a century. read more

Retailer Verimark Holdings (VMK) cautioned on Friday that it is anticipating said on a loss before taxation of between R4.5 million and R5.5 million for the six months ended 31 August 2012 compared to the profit before taxation of R13.1 million reported on in the previous corresponding period.  read more

A South African flour mill has made a rare purchase of about 35,000 tonnes of Russian-origin milling wheat, European traders said on Monday. read more

New Delhi - Indian ministers will meet on Tuesday to discuss measures to deal with a feared drought, including curbs on commodity derivatives, extra subsidies to farmers and the distribution of seeds, but are not expected to ban farm exports. read more

Johannesburg – Super Group [JSE:SPG] advised on Wednesday that for the year ended June 30 it expects to report earnings and headline earnings per share (HEPS) of between 165 cents and 180c‚ compared with HEPS of 108.3ce for year ended June 2011. read more

Most inflation targeting countries, including South Africa, have experienced “fairly benign outcomes” in recent months. The Reserve Bank’s annual economic report, released yesterday, attributed the trend largely to “moderation in international food and commodity prices”. read more

Imperial Logistics, a subsidiary of JSE-listed Imperial Holdings , says SA needs to take the lead in fixing Africa’s borders or businesses will struggle to transport goods between countries to the point where intra-African trade becomes impossible.  read more

Cape Town - A R1.2m international grant fund on rooibos export competitiveness secured by the South African Rooibos Council is aimed to drive exports of the indigenous herbal tea. read more

Cape Town - Transnet's results for the financial year to March 2012 - released on Tuesday - show strong growth in rail volumes and revenue.  read more

The maritime industry is currently housed in the Department of Transport, which is also responsible for aviation, logistics and rail.  read more

Transnet would no longer automatically renew leases for facilities used by established companies in the maritime sector at its ports. read more

Transnet will go to the international debt market before the end of March to raise capital for its R300bn capital expenditure programme, Transnet CEO Brian Molefe said on Thursday.  read more

The retail price of the 93 grade of petrol will decrease by 89c per litre (c/l) on Wednesday July 4‚ the department of energy announced on Friday.  read more

Johannesburg - State-owned transport and logistics company Transnet has appointed Anoj Singh as Chief Financial Officer with effect from 1 July 2012. read more

Geneva - Brazil has taken the first legal step at the World Trade Organisation to challenge South Africa's use of anti-dumping measures on shipments of Brazilian poultry meat, the global trade body said in a statement on Friday. read more

Grindrod, the logistics and shipping services company, has issued retrenchment notices to staff in its logistics business due to the underperformance of its trucking division. read more

The volume of merchandise exports contracted by 0,4% in the first quarter of 2012, largely due to relatively weaker global demand and domestic supply constraints, the SA Reserve Bank’s Quarterly Bulletin (QB) showed on Thursday. read more

Most South Africans do not believe tasty food can be made with less salt, and few realise cutting their intake may fend off a heart attack or stroke, according to new research by food giant Unilever. read more

In the face of serious bungling by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries that could cost SA its hake exports to the lucrative European market, an official has effectively told producers to go and find new markets. read more

Pick n Pay has made another large purchase of warehouse equipment from Goscor Lift Truck Company. This brings the total to more than 500 Crown electric material handling machines bought by the retailer from Goscor.  read more

Logistics firm Cargo Carriers said yesterday it had bought 55% of BHL, a Zambian-registered transporter of commodities including copper concentrates, lime and sulphuric acid. read more

Against a backdrop of sobering global economic factors, which include the ongoing European debt crisis and slowdown in China’s economy, the local manufacturing sector in South Africa appears to be maintaining a positive outlook which has spin-offs for the industrial property sector.  read more

Brussels - The eurozone narrowly escaped technical recession in the first quarter as exports offset a plunge in investment and inventories to produce a flat reading, data showed on Wednesday, but it was unlikely to escape contraction again in the second quarter.  read more

Johannesburg - Consumer goods and beverages group Clover Industries Limited [JSE:CLR] said on Tuesday it had renewed its outsourcing service agreement with Eqstra [JSE:EQS] Flexifleet for a “substantial period of time” in a move to reduce costs in the supply chain. read more

Shipping and freight services group Grindrod said on Wednesday that it expected its headline earnings per share to decline between 10% and 20% in the six months ended June 2012 compared with the same period a year earlier.  read more

Month records a 14,9% decrease in exports to R52,2bn, with exports of mineral products down 16%, and a 7,2% drop in imports to R62bn read more

Producer inflation has fallen for six months in a row. Statistics SA released data yesterday on the prices of goods as they leave factories, farms and mines, which showed inflation at the producer level fell to an annual 6.6 percent in April, from 7.2 percent in March and a peak of 10.6 percent in October last year. read more

International oil prices yesterday fell to their lowest level in about five months, as fear continued to grow over the threat of Europe’s deepening debt crisis to global growth and reports that the US has more oil in reserve since its record 1990 levels. read more

Parliament - Transnet CEO Brian Molefe told MPs on Tuesday the transport utility's R300bn expansion programme will put 220 000 jobs into the economy, not well over 500 000 as reported.  read more

New York - Greek winemakers are not pricing their wares in drachmas - yet. read more

Johannesburg - South African consumer goods firm Tiger Brands [JSE:TBS] posted a modest rise in first-half earnings on Tuesday, helped by growth in its exports and international businesses as the domestic market remains subdued. read more

Brands management group Barloworld (BAW) issued a cautionary on Friday saying it was in negotiations with Caterpillar Global Mining LLC and some of its subsidiaries for the acquisition of the Bucyrus distribution businesses in certain of Barloworld's southern African Cat dealership territories. read more

Regional logistics and supply chain services provider Value Group ’s diluted headline earnings per share rose 3,8%, from 58c to 60,2c in the year to February, which the company said was strong given market factors. read more

Parliament - Transnet will cover two-thirds of its R300bn infrastructure programme with "retained earnings", Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Tuesday. read more