helen mba _2 - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

2002.The estimated volume of containers for Volkswagen South Africa for 2003 isprojected as 16 500 owing to a change in logistical process. According to theEastern Cape Development Corporation (2001:3) Volkswagen South Africa hasannounced a R2,16 billion contract with Faurecia Exhaust Systems. Renault hassigned a R2 billion export contract with Port Elizabeth-based Faurecia ExhaustSystems. Eberspacher has also secured a R80 million contract to supply Europe withcatalytic converters. These contracts were negotiated by SAPO, the shipping linesand the clearing and forwarding agents, all three of which are the intermodalindustry’s related and supporting industries.Hill (2003:161) stresses that one consequence of related and supporting industries isthat successful industries in a country tend to be grouped into clusters of relatedindustries. This was one of the most pervasive findings of Porter’s study. Suchclusters are important because valuable knowledge can flow between the firms withina geographic cluster. According to the researcher, there is no intermodal cluster in theNMMM or in the rest of South Africa. Perhaps initiative needs to be taken to establishan intermodal cluster in the NMMM, to exchange valuable knowledge between firms.3.7.4 Firm strategy, structure and rivalryThe intermodal organisations in the NMMM are either domestically owned or foreignownedfirms. Ownership has a direct effect on the way the firms operate and aremanaged, since management styles vary according to competitive strategy and arealso affected by the strategy of foreign-owned firms in the industry (Du Plessis,Regional manager, Freightdynamics, Port Elizabeth, 30 January 2003, PersonalCommunication).98