Find Freight, Shipping and Logistics expertise in Kenya
Freight and carriage services are available to, from and within Kenya via land, sea and air. The industry is well diversified and includes firms specialising in sensitive or perishable goods, for example exports of fresh fish to countries in the European Union. Most horticultural products are air-freighted.
The bulk of trade in and out of Uganda is carried across Kenya from and to Mombasa, the country’s main port. Managed and operated by the Kenya Ports Authority, the port is a crucial hub for international trade in the East and Central African region. Inland transportation from the port is provided by truck and train, and special railtainer services operate from the port to inland container depots. Kenya Railways handles large amounts of freight, accounting for around 80% of its income, operating on the country’s 2,066 km of railways (2008).
A wide variety of shipping services operate in the port, shipping to destinations worldwide. The port is fully equipped to handle a variety of cargoes, with a rapidly developing trade in containerised cargo. It provides 16 deep-water berths totalling over three thousand meters in length with alongside depth of ten meters. It operates Inland Container Depots, dry ports for the handling and storage of containerised cargo and empty containers, alongside extensive other storage facilities.
The primary international airport in the country is the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, partly publicly and partly military owned. Numerous international cargo airlines run services into and out of the airport. Kenya Airways operates KQ Cargo which aims to improve the cargo capacity and develop a dedicated freighter network.
In 2010 imports of goods into Kenya totalled €11.2 billion, whilst exports were valued at €3.8 billion. The major import partners were the European Union, China and India, with shares of 15.1%, 14.9% and 13.3% respectively. The export market was also led by the European Union, with a share of 25.8%, followed by Uganda and Tanzania.
The World Bank’s Global Logistics Performance Index (2012) ranked Kenya 130th out of 155 in terms of infrastructure.
The country has a large number of freight forwarders and custom brokers, based primarily in Nairobi and Mombasa. Large international courier services, such as UPS and DHL, operate in the country alongside smaller, local firms. The major global consultancy firm Deloitte is in operation, alongside local firms such as Strategic Training and Logistics Consultants Limited.
The Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association is the industry body. Development and regulation of the sector is overseen by the Ministry of Transport.
The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index places Kenya 122nd overall out of 155 countries, with a score of 2.43, 45.9% of the highest performer, Singapore. In relation to customs (136th) Kenya scored below the average for both sub-Saharan nations and for low income countries. However, in terms of international shipments (88th) and timeliness (113th) it was given a value above both averages. In the case of logistics competence (118th) and tracking and tracing (130th), it scored above the average low income nation but below the average for its region.
