Dark clouds for online deliveries in South Africa
Online deliveries in South Africa are almost twice as expensive as the global average, and prices are likely to continue escalating as long as criminal activity continues to pose a risk to couriers.
Speaking to the City Press, CEO of FarEye – a last-mile delivery technology specialist – Kushal Nahata said that couriers are being forced to increase their spending on security measures to protect their operations from hijackings and theft in South Africa.
She noted that last-mile (warehouse to the home) delivery costs in the country are already between 50% to 100% higher than the global average, with as many as 25 delivery vehicles hijacked per day.
As e-commerce and online sales continue to grow and customers demand faster and more convenient delivery, the security risks for retailers and couriers are bound to increase, requiring higher spending and likely higher fees.
Other groups have also warned about the crime risks associated with deliveries in South Africa.
In September, data from the Road Freight Association (RFA) showed that hijackings and other crimes targeting the road freight industry have spiked dramatically in South Africa this year.
Gavin Kelly, CEO of the RFA, reported that these crimes now range from “hijacking syndicates and cargo targeting to real ‘mafia-style’ attacks on road freight vehicles.”
The RFA’s operational incident index revealed that the average number of hijacking incidents per day last year was about 50% higher than in 2021.
This trend has only worsened in 2024, with the number of daily incidents skyrocketing.
In June alone, there were almost 65 reported hijacking incidents per day, compared to fewer than 20 per day just the previous year.
August saw more than 50 incidents per day, highlighting the rapid escalation of the crime wave.
Kelly said the surge in hijackings was being driven by well-organised syndicates, many of which are highly skilled and dangerous.
Vehicle tracking group Tracker also warned of the escalation in hijackers targeting delivery fleets amid the boom in e-commerce in South Africa—with online items now the main target apart from the car itself.
“Regrettably, crime aimed at online deliveries now prove highly lucrative, whether the objective is acquiring the delivered goods, seizing cash or devices carried by drivers, or commandeering the delivery vehicle,” it said.
Where the hijacked loads have been reported to Tracker, 81% of these were fast-moving consumable goods (FMCG), including alcohol, clothing, groceries, couriered parcels through online sales platforms, homeware and medication.
In criminal circles, cargo is now considered more valuable and desirable than the transportation vehicle itself, thus the escalation in opportunistic business vehicle hijackings.
Tracker’s Vehicle Crime Index (VCI), which aggregates information from the company’s more than 1.1 million subscribers, hijackings still dominate at a national level, accounting for 55% of all national vehicle crime incidents.
Business-owned vehicles are almost twice as likely to be hijacked than stolen.
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