What The Rankings Don’t Tell Us

OPINION – The World Bank Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) 2025

By:  The Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF)
Author:  Dr Jacob van Rensburg –  Head of Research and Industry Intelligence

The World Bank Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) 2025 brings encouraging news for South Africa’s container ports and highlights performance gains worth recognising. However, important insights lie not in the published rankings – but are derived from substantial performance areas of logistics that remain beyond the index’s field of vision.

SAAFF notes the release of the latest World Bank and S&P Global Container Port Performance Index, which again offers a useful – but limited – view of container-port performance. The CPPI is a vessel-time-in-port indicator, adjusted for vessel and call size; it is not a whole-system measure of port or logistics performance and does not, on its own, measure port throughput, cost, cargo dwell time, landside evacuation, hinterland connectivity, service reliability, or cargo-owner outcomes.

The rankings therefore do not tell the full story. While Durban, Ngqura and Port Elizabeth recorded material year-on-year improvements in the latest index, South Africa’s real challenge is to move beyond isolated indicators and build an integrated, transparent view of the full port-logistics system. 

What is required is better data visibility. SAAFF therefore reiterates the need for structured data-sharing between Transnet, industry, and relevant public-sector partners to enable a more complete and trusted assessment of port and corridor performance. Without access to consistent operational data — including vessel, CTOC*-window, terminal, landside, rail, road, dwell-time, cost, and reliability indicators — neither government nor industry can properly diagnose bottlenecks, distinguish operational improvement from system recovery, or hold the logistics network accountable. Equally important, the value of performance measurement in planning and as a risk-management tool in the world of logistics is significantly diminished when assessment is based on a narrow set of vessel-time indicators.

The latest CPPI results should therefore be treated not as the final word on South African port performance, but as a prompt to deepen collaborative measurement, improve transparency, and develop a comprehensive national performance framework for ports, corridors, and cargo-owner outcomes.

The improvements posted by Durban, Ngqura and Port Elizabeth, alongside progress by Cape Town have been achieved under challenging circumstances and deserve recognition and are welcomed by cargo owners and supply chain participants whose competitiveness depends, in no small measure, on the efficiency of port performance.   

SAAFF remains committed to driving industry collaboration and improving port-system performance beyond the bounded measure of the CPPI. While the CPPI contributes a useful piece of the performance puzzle, it is important to reiterate it should not be regarded as a definitive measure of port-system effectiveness or national logistics competitiveness.