General freight volumes increased by 2.2% to 73.7 million tonnes. Export iron-ore did a little better with a 3.4% increase to 46.2 million tonnes, but this is a far cry from the 60 million-tonne capacity of the exporting facility at Saldanha Bay. Export coal traffic increased by a mere 0.6% to 62.2 million tonnes. Again, the Richards Bay coal terminal is not achieving its potential 90 million-tonne capacity.

Poor punctuality was a major concern within Transnet Freight, and punctuality targets were not achieved. The performance of the Freight Rail division, which accounts for some 59% of Transnet's total revenue, was described by group CEO Mr Brian Molefe as "dismal".