From Fuel Tank to Shopping Basket: How Spar Is Navigating Rising Transport Costs

As fuel prices place growing pressure on South Africa’s supply chains, SPAR highlights the importance of efficient distribution, energy management and reliable access to everyday essentials.

Durban: Rising fuel prices are placing additional pressure on South Africa’s grocery supply chains, increasing the cost of moving products from suppliers to distribution centres and ultimately to supermarket shelves. For retailers, the challenge is balancing these pressures with the need to maintain product availability, quality and value for consumers.

According to the Road Freight Association (RFA), fuel accounts for between 35% and 55% of road transport operators’ operating costs, depending on vehicle type, route and operating conditions. Sustained increases therefore have implications beyond the transport sector, affecting businesses and consumers across the value chain.

“Every product on a supermarket shelf has a journey behind it. When fuel costs rise, the impact extends beyond the trucks transporting goods.

It reinforces the importance of how efficiently we manage our entire distribution network, from vehicle fuel consumptions, route management and vehicle utilizations and order planning to maintaining reliable deliveries to stores,” says Arno Haigh, National Logistics Executive at The SPAR Group.

“While we cannot control external cost pressures, we can focus on improving operational efficiencies and ensuring that our distribution network continues to support retailers and the communities they serve.”

Managing costs beyond the road

At SPAR, managing supply-chain costs extends beyond transportation. Energy resources, distribution infrastructure and operational resilience also play an important role in maintaining an efficient supply network.

As part of its ongoing investment in energy efficiency, SPAR has installed solar plants at all six of its South African distribution centres. The programme began at the South Rand distribution centre in 2017 and has since expanded across the network peaking over 10MW.

These investments help reduce reliance on grid electricity, manage energy costs and strengthen operational resilience.

However, efficiency is not only about managing costs. It also means ensuring that products reach stores in good condition, minimising avoidable food losses and maintaining reliable supply, particularly for fresh and perishable goods that require effective cold-chain management.

Reducing food loss protects value

Food loss remains an important consideration in the grocery supply chain. When products are damaged, spoil or become unsaleable before reaching consumers, the resources invested in producing, storing and transporting them are also lost.

Reducing these avoidable losses can improve operational efficiency, protect product availability and help limit unnecessary costs across the value chain.

For SPAR, reliable distribution and effective stock management are therefore central to supporting its network of independently owned stores and ensuring that retailers can continue meeting customer needs.

Connecting communities to essential groceries

The final stage of the supply chain is equally important. Access to affordable groceries depends not only on the cost of transporting products but also on the availability of well-replenished stores within communities.

SPAR’s network of neighbourhood retailers, including stores serving rural, township and peri-urban communities, plays an important role in connecting households to essential groceries.

Maintaining reliable deliveries across these diverse locations requires effective distribution planning, particularly where distances, road infrastructure and operating conditions present additional challenges.

A dependable supply network helps retailers maintain stock availability while reducing the need for consumers to travel longer distances in search of everyday essentials.

Balancing rising costs with consumer value

The latest Statistics South Africa Consumer Price Index shows that annual transport inflation reached 10.8% in September 2026, with fuel inflation at 27.9%, compared with food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation of 1.2%.

While higher fuel prices do not automatically translate into equivalent increases in grocery prices, they add pressure across the supply chain. The extent of that impact depends on several factors, including supplier costs, transport strategy and the ability of businesses to manage operational efficiencies.

“As we mark Transport Month, the focus should not only be on the rising cost of moving goods, but also on how we make supply chains more efficient and resilient. For SPAR, that means continuously looking at ways to manage costs, reduce avoidable risks and support reliable distribution to our retailers,” concludes Haigh.

“Ultimately, an efficient supply chain is about more than moving products. It is about helping ensure that communities have reliable access to the groceries they need.”

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Author: Anelisiwe Lubuzo from SPAR on behalf of SPAR.

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