Summary
Content
General Conditions - Transporters
The vehicle operators in Ethiopia are categorised as follows: State owned transport companies and associates, private limited companies and private transport associations. The lifting capacity of the vehicles is determined by the total tonnage it can transport per trip over a given distance. According to the records of the Road Transport Authority, there are 9,164 dry cargo common carriers in Ethiopia (1998/1999). Total number of vehicles owned by private operators but not registered in an association is 227. According to the carrying capacity, the vehicles can be classified into short-haul and long haul vehicles. The tables overleaf provide information about present short-haul and long haul capacities in Ethiopia, based on different criteria of categorisation in terms of loading capacity (in quintals). In assessing overall road transport capacities, the following factors are to be taken into account.
Truck Serviceability
Serviceability is the total number of days that a vehicle is on the road and transporting goods. It is usually assumed that a new vehicle will be on the road for about 300 days in a year (83%). For older vehicles, it is assumed that they will be on the road for a period ranging from 18 - 25 days per month, i.e. an average of 260 days per year (71 %).
Load Factors
Long haul vehicles (Truck/Trailers and Articulated) carry between 22 and 40 tons. Records of the former Ministries of Planning and Economic Development and Transport and Communications reveal a capacity utilisation/load factor of not more than 60%. Transportation of food aid cargo is generally one way traffic. The return leg is usually empty.
Long Haul Transport
Overland transport capacity available to move relief cargo from the port is determined by several factors. Critical are the number long haul truck fleet, their average capacity and their serviceability. Since trucks work in rotation, number of roundtrips done per month is also significant. In this example, a fleet of 2,500 long haul trucks with average capacity of 37 Mtn each is registered. Serviceability of the trucks is set at 70%. The available trucks can make 2.3 roundtrips per month capable of lifting over 150,000 Mtn each month.
Serviceability also relates trucks not being available for relief cargo but working for commercial cargo. Whereas it may be difficult increase truck serviceability, it is possible to reduce turnaround trip days and therefore increase number of trips performed per month. Good coordination and reduced waiting time at port and offloading locations can significantly increase number of trips per month.
Secondary Transport
An assessment for secondary transport capacities is more difficult, due to various reasons. There is a large variation of short-haul trucks in terms of pay-load capacities (e.g. between 0.5 - 12 tons capacity). Small short haul trucks are to a limited degree only available for relief transports. Also long-haul trucks are used in secondary transport. There is a wide variation and geographical distribution of short-haul trucks in different regions.
Special Considerations
Trucks owned/driven by people from the highlands of Ethiopia are at risk in the Somali Region and should take special precautions.