By Albrich van Niekerk
Group CEO, Pander Holdings (Pty) Ltd

There’s a well-known phrase in our industry: “Without trucks, South Africa stops.” It’s not just a slogan – it’s an economic truth. Every supermarket shelf, mine, construction site, factory and export container rely on one thing: a truck and its operator. But while the country keeps moving, the very people responsible for that movement – the truck owners and operators – are being driven out of business.

And the biggest threat isn’t the diesel prices, interest rates or even border delays. It’s a cancer eating away at the core of our industry: the unchecked dominance of transport brokers.

Tariffs Under Siege

Transport tariffs in South Africa are under relentless pressure. While operating costs continue to soar – from diesel and tyres to compliance, tolls and financing – the rates offered to professional transporters have sunk to unsustainable levels. Everyone wants it cheaper, faster, and easier. But at what cost?

Brokers are forcing tariffs down without any impact on their own margins. They play a zero-risk game where they keep their profits no matter the outcome – while the transporter carries all the risk and burden.

Brokers: Maximum Profit, Zero Responsibility

Let’s call this out plainly: transport brokers add no real operational value to the trucking industry. They own no trucks, employ no drivers, carry no insurance, face no roadside breakdowns and risk no capital. Yet they insert themselves into transactions, undercut the transporter and walk away with the best portion of the rate.

Time and again, history has shown us how this model ends. When the broker collapses, the transporter is left unpaid, unable to recover and often unable to survive. These brokers build profit empires on paper, while truckers are left with real-world costs, real-world risks, and real-world consequences.

The risks no-one talks about

Beyond the financial strain, professional transporters face enormous daily risks that brokers never encounter. Our trucks traverse routes plagued by riots, violent protests, infrastructure sabotage and ADTF-related terrorism. We operate in an environment where hijackings, cargo theft and deadly accidents are routine – not anomalies.

When a load is looted or a truck is torched, there is no safety net for the transporter. When a driver is attacked, we carry the emotional and financial fallout. Brokers continue to collect their share regardless – untouched, unaccountable, and unbothered.

And here’s the final insult: those of us who play by the rules, who invest in compliance, training, safety, and labour standards – RTMS, NBCRFLI, Road Freight permits – are the very ones being forced to run for siphoned, bottom-barrel rates.

We do it right and get punished for it. Meanwhile, brokers reward undercutters and operators who ignore every legal standard. The message is loud and clear: professionalism costs you money – and gets you nothing in return.

An Industry in freefall

This is no longer a warning – it’s a declaration of reality:

• Transport businesses are closing down.
• Jobs are being lost.
• Fleets are standing still.
• Families are suffering.

And yet, everyone continues to ignore the elephant in the room – the transport broker. Until we confront and reform this part of the value chain, we will see continued collapse of compliant, long-term operators who form the backbone of our national supply chain.

A Call to Clients and Industry Stakeholders

To procurement departments, mines, mills, manufacturers, and exporters: Ask yourselves: Who are you really contracting with? And how much of your transport spend is reaching the actual transporter – the one carrying your goods, risking their assets and keeping your supply chain intact?

Engaging directly with professional transporters builds a resilient, reliable and ethical logistics network. Doing it through a broker may save you a few rands in the short term – but it destroys long-term sustainability for everyone involved.

Final Word

Without trucks, South Africa stops. But right now, transporters are the ones being stopped – by a system that rewards the middleman and punishes the operator. Unless we face this issue head-on, there will be no trucks left to stop.

Editor’s Comment. What is your experience with transport brokers? Tell us by writing to the Editor at fleetwatch@pixie.co.za. And what about your opinion Mr Transport Broker. Let’s hear from you.