Chairperson Terry Gale said there was no denying that Cape Town had faced significant operational challenges over recent years, but the industry was concerned that the report did not reflect the significant progress made over the past year.

"The CPPI provides an important benchmark, but it is based on historical vessel call data and does not fully capture the operational improvements that have taken place over the past year," said Gale.

"The focus should be on what is happening on the ground rather than relying solely on a single international ranking. Exporters are dealing with today's port, not the port of two years ago."

Recent industry performance data points to improvements across several key operational measures.

Among the most notable changes are:

• Anchorage waiting time has reduced from 3.94 days in 2024 to 1.15 days in 2025
• Average container terminal berth time has fallen from 2.24 days to 1.33 days
• Container volumes through Cape Town increased by 15.1% during the 2025/26 financial year
• Approximately 728 000 TEUs were handled through the Cape Town Container Terminal, with a further 82 500 TEUs moving through the multipurpose terminal
• Average ship working productivity improved from 28 to 29 container moves per hour
• The terminal handled an average of 2 235 TEUs per day
• Significant investment has also been made in new equipment, including 28 rubber-tyred gantry cranes, 47 hauliers and four reach stackers

Gale said the CPPI also highlighted an issue that had received far less attention than the overall ranking.

"The report shows that vessels spend only 56% of their total port time alongside the berth, with the remaining 44% spent outside productive berth operations. That suggests many of the delays affecting the ranking occur before or after cargo operations, rather than during the loading and unloading process."

He said improving vessel turnaround required improvements across the entire port system, including marine services, vessel scheduling and landside logistics, rather than focusing solely on container terminal productivity.

Exporters Western Cape welcomed the Western Cape Government's recent announcement of four interventions aimed at improving port performance and said the organisation fully supported initiatives that would further strengthen operational efficiency.

"The industry wants Cape Town to become one of the world's leading ports and we are already seeing encouraging signs that performance is moving in the right direction," said Gale.

"The ranking highlights where more work is needed. Our priority now is to maintain the momentum we've already seen through investment, collaboration and operational reform."

Terry Gale, Chairperson, Exporters Western Cape