The study  by Carla Meyer and Dr Johann van Rensburg of Stellenbosch University, examined delays at Lebombo, Beitbridge, Groblersbrug and Vioolsdrift. These key road-freight gateways link South Africa with Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia respectively and play an important role in regional trade.

The pressure on these gateways has intensified as inefficiencies at South Africa’s ports and rail system have pushed more freight onto road corridors. Road transport now carries the overwhelming majority of the country’s freight payload and provides the main export link to neighbouring SADC markets.

Queues measured in days

The scale of the disruption is extraordinary. Average waiting times across the four border posts ranged from seven to 70 hours, while extreme delays at Beitbridge exceeded 57 hours. The paper estimates that heavy goods vehicles lose about 68,000 hours every week across the four crossings, with a truck queuing for an average of 24 hours.

That is not simply an inconvenience. It means vehicles, drivers and cargo are immobilised while costs continue to accumulate. Operators must still pay wages, fuel, finance charges, maintenance and refrigeration costs, while the truck earns no revenue.

The study’s vehicle-specific calculations show how quickly the bill grows. A 20-hour delay can cost about R25,165 for a tautliner, R21,815 for a tipper and R22,897 for a refrigerated truck. For temperature-sensitive cargo, the consequences can extend beyond transport costs to spoiled products, rejected loads and damaged customer relationships.

South Africa pays twice

The private cost to transporters is only part of the damage. Long queues also create wider economic costs through additional emissions, stop-start fuel consumption, congestion and accelerated road deterioration.

Supply chains become less predictable, exporters build more time and inventory into their operations and South African products become less competitive. The burden is especially severe on northbound trade, where Beitbridge remains a critical gateway into Zimbabwe, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other inland markets.

Ultimately, these inefficiencies feed into higher prices, lost sales, missed delivery windows and weaker confidence in South Africa as a regional gateway.

The human cost is also significant. Drivers can spend days without adequate rest, sanitation or security, while refrigerated loads remain exposed to prolonged delays. During the festive-season peak, when freight volumes rise sharply, already weak systems come under even greater strain.

The problem is not only capacity

One of the paper’s most important findings is that congestion cannot be blamed solely on too little physical capacity. Beitbridge processes more than 14,500 tonnes of freight a day, yet still records severe delays.

That points to a deeper failure: inconsistent processing times, fragmented border management, manual paperwork and weak coordination between neighbouring authorities. In economic terms, the queues operate like a non-tariff trade barrier, adding cost without adding value.

Building more lanes or expanding facilities may help, but infrastructure alone will not solve a system governed by slow, duplicated and unpredictable procedures.

Digital reform could unlock billions

The paper calls for pre-clearance systems, biometric verification and real-time information sharing so that drivers, cargo and documentation can be processed before trucks reach the border. It also recommends coordinated management between neighbouring countries, harmonised procedures and aligned operating hours.

These reforms should be backed by measurable service standards, public reporting of processing times and targeted plans for seasonal peaks. Authorities should focus not only on average clearance times but also on reducing extreme delays, which cause the greatest financial damage.

Border performance must be treated with the same urgency as ports, railways and national roads. Every hour saved would release productive truck capacity, reduce operating costs and improve the reliability of regional supply chains.

The message from the SATC paper is frank: South Africa does not need to accept billion-rand losses as the price of cross-border trade. The queues are costly, visible and  most importantly, largely avoidable.

Serialong Kumalo, Communications and PR for the Southern African Transport Conference