From a firm’s perspective, the choice of transport mode has
an impact on total logistics costs, which makes it necessary
to consider different cost trade-offs. Key strengths of road
transport compared to rail transport include shorter transit
times, higher frequency and reliability of service (Pienaar
& Vogt 2012). Generally, road transport allows firms to
reduce stock levels and react quicker to changing customer
demand. Substituting rail with road transport usually
results in higher transportation costs, but lower inventory
costs (Coyle et al. 2013). According to Chopra and Meindl
(2010), lower cost transport modes typically have longer
lead times and larger minimum shipment quantities, which
result in higher inventory levels. The reduced inventory
holding and storage costs benefit might be associated with
higher transport costs. From a macro-economic perspective,
the predominant use of road transport not only results in
higher total national logistics costs, but also increases related
social and externality costs such as the faster deterioration of
South African roads, increased congestion and noise, more