South African business confidence in the transport and hospitality sectors rose during the third quarter of 2022, a new Bureau for Economic Research (BER) report has indicated.

The BER report, released on Tuesday, showed that during the third quarter of 2022, business confidence in the other services sector remained static (at 53 compared to 52 previously) according to the latest RMB/BER business confidence index (BCI) survey.  

“It continues to hover around the long-term average, indicating that confidence is neither low nor high. Nevertheless, services (domestic trade and other services) outshone industry (building and manufacturing) and within services, other services outperformed in the third quarter,” BER said.

The survey was conducted among 350 firms from 10 to 29 August 2022. 

Hotels, restaurants, transport, real estate and business services make up the other services sector. They are denoted as “other” services to distinguish them from the retail, wholesale and motor trade sectors, which are also part of the services sector but included in the index.

“In terms of the four sub-sectors making up the total, activity in the hospitality sector continued to pose the highest year-on-year growth. Growth in activity in the important business services sub-sector,  which contributes 45% to the total, and real estate came off the boil. Transport activity, in contrast, rebounded,” BER said.

“The hospitality sector continued to benefit from the removal of all COVID-19 restrictions. Although the number of guests/patrons continued to rise relative to the previous quarter, the year-on-year tempo of increase decelerated somewhat, in large part due to the already higher level of a year ago, from its earlier records in the second quarter. The fact that pre-lockdown levels have not been reached, the upcoming summer peak season, the gradual return of business travellers and the resumption of events bode well in the short term.”

However, high menu price increases and an adverse real income shock to South Africa’s main tourist source markets are likely to stifle the sustainability of the sector’s recovery commencing with the off-peak season in 2023.

Road freight payloads surpassed pre-lockdown levels in the fourth quarter of 2021. Read more here 

Original Source:  https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/business-confidence-transport-sector-rebounds

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