To protect your business from the looming threat of a fuel shortage in South Africa, you have to implement a proactive strategy. Thanks to the current global situations, there are sharp increases in oil prices and supply constraints globally, which is why businesses need a strategy that focuses on reducing fuel consumption, optimising your logistics, and diversifying your fleet.
From the 1st of April 2026, a temporary fuel levy reduction of R3.00 was implemented; however, this is set to expire on the 5th of May 2026. Current projections without any fluctuations or interventions show that unleaded petrol could cost up to R31.06 per litre, and diesel could cost up to R42.24 per litre.
This would be a huge blow to not only the everyday commuter, but also businesses across South Africa. This is why it's vital for businesses to implement strategies to protect themselves from the volatile fuel situation that’s affecting everyone, everywhere.
Cartrack has a lot of solutions that can give you complete operational intelligence and, most importantly, lower your fuel consumption with better fuel management.
There’s a threat of a fuel shortage globally because of growing geopolitical tensions and the dependence on fuel imports. South Africa imports over 60% of our ready-to-use fuel, and with the Astron Energy refinery in Cape Town being offline for its planned annual maintenance, the growing threat of a fuel shortage looms over every South African’s head.
But while we may not run out of fuel, the price of fuel is getting higher and higher, impacting how all logistics companies are now moving.
You can protect your business from fuel volatility by implementing some proactive strategies. For example, we know that diesel-run vehicles and machines make up a high portion of fleets, and with diesel going up significantly, making sure you have enough in reserve or credit to keep your business operating.
Other proactive strategies are:
All of these are actual steps you can take to keep your business from struggling during this unsteady period.
Fuel shortages and price increases are going to severely impact industries such as logistics, agriculture, manufacturing, and mining. All of these industries heavily rely on fuel, which means that any shortage or increase in the price of fuel directly impacts how businesses are operating.
Diesel accounts for 35% and 55% of the total operating costs, and on April 1st, the basic daily diesel cost for the road freight industry rose by 32.5%. These sudden and astronomical increases have the power to completely cripple and even collapse a logistics company.
In the agriculture industry, fuel roughly accounts for about 12% to 18% of all agricultural production costs. This means that fuel shortages and increases will affect production costs and the ability to produce food; ultimately, all of these factors will push up the prices of goods.
The manufacturing industry is huge, and rising costs in fuel mean that operation expenses go up. Smaller manufacturing businesses that don’t have spare funds to cushion the blow can face the threat of liquidation.
Public and private transportation businesses are going to need to hike up their prices to survive. This will unfortunately affect the pockets of commuters and could mean fewer people will start using public and private transport options.
Cartrack can protect your business from rising fuel costs with our comprehensive telematics and fuel management system. With Cartrack you can monitor fuel levels, driver behaviour, and vehicle maintenance. All of these can help your business stay afloat amidst rising fuel costs.
Cartrack’s advanced telematics system is a must for every business for every type of fleet. It helps businesses gain complete operational intelligence of their entire fleet operations. Cartrack’s telematics system uses IoT tech to collect and analyse data from your vehicles, drivers and other assets to give you real-time insights on every aspect of your fleet.
This is how you’ll keep track of what vehicles, assets and drivers are using the most fuel, and you’ll know exactly how to control and manage every component of how your business is using and wasting fuel.
Part of a telematics system is a fuel monitoring system. This is the most important thing you’ll need for your business to properly manage fuel in your fleet. It works with a combination of hardware and software to ensure that fuel is being used efficiently throughout your operations.
The fuel management system works with:
A fuel monitoring system is the number one tool you can use to spot fuel theft. Now, you might think you don’t have a problem with fuel theft, but with the prices of fuel rising, it’s a bigger threat to your operations than you may think.
Monitoring driver behaviour is important if you want to monitor how your fuel is being used. Harsh braking, excessive idling and speeding can all waste fuel, which is why you need eyes on your drivers to monitor their driving habits.
Let’s use an example. Say you have "small" wastage, like 5% of fuel loss because of bad driving habits like speeding, and your drivers roughly use about 40 litres of fuel a day. Take that amount and multiply it by the number of vehicles you have (65), the number of working days (225) and the current price of diesel (R26).
That equates to a wastage of R760,500.00 a year! Compared to what you’d pay for a fuel monitoring system from Cartrack, that's just a drop of fuel!
Poorly maintained vehicles will burn more fuel. You need to make sure all your vehicles are being well maintained and always performing at their best. This, however, is especially difficult if you have a large fleet. But with Cartrack’s fleet management system you’ll easily keep track of all vehicle maintenance!
Our features include:
Route optimisation is an incredibly helpful tool for saving fuel in your fleet. If your drivers' routes aren’t optimised, they're going to end up taking longer routes or get stuck in avoidable traffic. Poor routing burns through your fuel, and with Cartrack’s top-of-the-range telematics and GPS system, you can rest assured that your drivers will always take the most efficient route and save fuel!
So if you’re ready to keep your fleets on the road no matter what’s happening with the fuel in South Africa, then contact us today!
Protect your business from record-breaking fuel hikes and shortages with proactive strategies, from Cartrack, to ensure your fleet stays profitable.
