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Celebrating a milestone moment: Detlev Duve celebrates 30 years with DACHSER South Africa! 

Today, we honour Managing Director Detlev Duve as he marks his 30th work anniversary with DACHSER South Africa—a remarkable journey of passion, dedication, and growth. As we look back on Detlev Duve's 30 years with the company, it's clear that his journey is one of stong relationships, excellent achievement and unwavering commitment to values that truly matter, overcoming challenges to build a solutions-focused, experienced team with deep understanding of the markets in Africa.

Supporting Africa’s logistics needs with bulk ocean freight

Before sea freight containers took over sixty years ago, break bulk was the main form of moving cargo. Roughly 90% of all goods worldwide are still shipped by sea, of which 70% is now containerised cargo. Break bulk sea freight however still makes up a significant segment of transportation and has several advantages for clients, whether by air or sea freight, says Detlev Duve, managing director of Dachser South Africa.

Globally, logistics leader Dachser has undertaken many complex break bulk shipments. Due to Africa’s economic reliance on the extraction of natural resources, logistics operators in Africa will often be required to facilitate the movement of large machinery and parts.

Break bulk is where items are not transported in containers, but carried in units such as pallets, bags, drums or crates, or as larger non-unitised cargo. Cargo can be moved in smaller units, and it allows goods to enter less developed ports that are not set up for loading and unloading containers. Break bulk would also be used for hazardous materials, as they have to stay separate.

DACHSER secures long-term air freight capacity

DACHSER Air & Sea Logistics is extending its charter program on the route between Shanghai and Frankfurt to cover the period from May 2022 to April 2024. This enables the logistics provider to continue to offer its customers reliable transport capacity. DACHSER flies a widebody aircraft between Asia and Europe two days a week, transporting 33 metric tons at a time.

DACHSER’s charter program offers the company’s air freight customers additional capacity they can rely on in their planning—especially now that the trade lanes between Asia and Europe have been hit hard by the lockdown in Shanghai as well as the war in Ukraine and the accompanying sanctions. “Our customers’ demand for charter capacity remains as high as ever,” says Timo Stroh, Head of Global Air Freight at DACHSER. “That’s why we’ve created our own transport network with regular connections between Asia, Europe, and North America: to be able to offer flexible solutions here.”

An option in challenging times

Air freight is also feeling the effects that the current situation is having on the world markets. While capacity was already in short supply before the pandemic, the situation has deteriorated significantly in recent months. The closure of airspace due to the war in Ukraine makes flights about two and a half hours longer. This means they need to carry more fuel, the cost of which has gone up and the weight of which reduces the possible cargo load.

“Operating our own charter connections opens up options for capacity and gives us a degree of independence in terms of handling,” Stroh says. DACHSER’s air freight network is also closely linked to its European overland transport network, so customers benefit from end-to-end transportation of their air freight shipments between Europe and Asia. “Even in these turbulent economic times, we stand by our own charters, ensuring predictable transport capacity for our customers.”

“A high degree of stability and reliability”

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