Andre Klynsmith

Distribution

Smaller Loads, Colder Loads: Retail Is Quietly Rewriting the Cross-Border Truck Mix

Wholesale and retail trade accounted for 29.12% of Africa's cross-border road freight revenue in 2025, and the fastest-growing segments of that market are the two things traditional long-haul fleets are least set up for: part loads and temperature control.

Distribution

2 September 2026 • 3 min read

Full loads still dominate African cross-border road freight and will for years. But the growth is not where the volume is, and an operator who reads only the market share numbers will build the wrong fleet for 2031.

Where the growth actually sits

Africa's cross-border road freight market is forecast to grow from US$9.81 billion in 2025 to more than US$12.38 billion by 2031, according to Mordor Intelligence figures cited by Freight News. Within that, full-truckload freight held a 52.78% share in 2025 and long-haul movements accounted for 62.95% of the market. Those are the familiar shapes of SADC trucking.

The growth rates tell a different story. Less-than-truckload services are forecast to record the strongest growth at 4.05% a year, ahead of the long-haul segment's 4.31% on a much smaller base. Non-temperature-controlled freight dominates with an 87.12% share, but temperature-controlled services are forecast to grow fastest at 4.08% a year. The wholesale and retail segment that drives much of this is forecast to grow at a compound rate of 4.62% to 2031.

Retail expectations are the cause

Freight News reports a steady convergence between retail and logistics in Southern Africa, where speed, convenience and real-time visibility have moved from added benefits to standard requirements. SA Cargo marketing coordinator Nompilo Mathe told the publication that wider access to local and international online shopping platforms "is creating greater demand for reliable, efficient and faster delivery services". Delivery is no longer the final stage of a purchase; it is part of the product.

That reshapes the freight brief. Retailers replenishing continuously rather than periodically send smaller consignments more often, across more destinations, with tighter delivery windows — which is the definition of less-than-truckload work. SA Cargo national sales manager Angelique Renshof said the company had introduced airfreight as a key development for cross-border e-commerce, with pharmaceuticals and electronics increasingly moving that way, and had expanded bonded storage facilities to absorb port congestion, infrastructure constraints and fuel price volatility.

The SADC constraint is still the border

Part loads make border friction worse, not better. A single full load crossing a border carries one set of documents; a consolidated part-load trailer carries several consignments, several consignees and several opportunities for a query to hold the whole vehicle. Renshof's assessment is that SADC trade "needs to become more integrated, particularly through the harmonisation of customs and regulatory processes, improved infrastructure and stronger transport corridors", with greater integration across rail, road, air and ports to reduce cross-border delays.

Until that harmonisation arrives, the operators best placed to take retail-driven cross-border work are the ones who can consolidate cleanly: accurate commodity descriptions per consignment, bonded storage to break bulk on the correct side of the border, and enough temperature-controlled capacity to take the pharmaceutical and perishable work that pays better than dry general freight.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics — with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com