Unifreight volumes up 58%

Audrey Galawu

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Unifreight posts 58% volume increase despite high operating costs

Unifreight Africa Limited said Zimbabwe’s exorbitant costs make operating a cross-border fleet in the country less expensive, particularly with the high fuel and vehicle registration costs.

Regionally, Zimbabwean fuel is the most expensive, with pump price at US$1.69 compared to US$1.11 in Zambia.

Vehicle registration is also significantly higher at US$1 560 compared to US$132 in Zambia.

According to Unifreight, duties levied on diesel currently stand at US$0.42 and 25% of export proceeds are converted into ZiG, which cannot be freely converted back into USD at the controlled exchange rates published by the Reserve Bank.

The group, however, said its flexible business model allows the change the number of assets running cross-border as needed.

Despite these challenges, the group witnessed substantial increase in Q1 volumes, up by 58% from the prior year, which itself was up by 135% from the year before.

“The consistent growth is a testament to our strategic fleet expansion and increased capacities. Our aggressive marketing efforts within the Full Truck Load market segment have paid off, despite a 17%reduction in total yield per KM due to the nature of our segment.

“This reduction is offset by the increased volumes being moved. We will continue to focus on wholesale consumer goods, the market segment least affected by the currency introduction,” reads the group’s Q1 2024 trading update.

Total revenue contributions have shifted from Less Than Load towards FTL, with FTL’s contribution increasing from 29% in 2023 to 41% in 2024.

“Tobacco has continued to be a key revenue driver for the group, with major merchants having chosen Swift for the safe and reliable transportation of their tobacco from the regional floors to Harare.

“Despite a smaller tobacco crop trending towards 220Mkg for the season, we anticipate moving over 30% more volume from this sector after securing additional merchants in 2024.”

So far, Unifreight has made over ZiG13 million for Q1 2024.