Author: The Nation

A structured cargo consolidation ecosystem could generate tens of thousands of direct jobs across the country’s maritime and aviation value chains, the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) has said.

The centre added that indirect employment in trucking, cold-chain logistics, ICT, insurance and finance could be two to three times higher than direct jobs created by the ecosystem.

SEREC said roles ranging from freight planners, load controllers and cargo analysts to warehouse operators and customs compliance officers would form the backbone of new logistics employment clusters around ports and airports, positioning cargo consolidation as both a trade and jobs strategy for Nigeria under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The group highlighted this in a position paper, signed by its Head of Research, Eugene Nweke, and obtained by The Nation.

The document, addressed to the Ministers of Marine & Blue Economy and Aviation & Aerospace Development, as well as in a public policy white paper previously submitted to the Presidency, urged the swift adoption of cargo-first logistics reforms.

The call comes amid strong AfCFTA trade momentum. Nigeria’s share of intra-African trade rose by over 127 per cent, from $8.1 billion in 2023 to $18.43 billion in 2024, accounting for about 8.3 per cent of total intra-African trade. At the continental level, intra-African trade expanded by 12.4 per cent to about $220.3 billion.

Nigeria’s exports to African markets also grew by 14 per cent in the first half of 2025 to approximately N4.82 trillion ($3.3 billion), reinforcing what SEREC described as “real and accelerating” AfCFTA momentum.

However, the centre warned that Nigeria remains logistically under-prepared to convert this growth into sustainable competitiveness.

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 “Trade agreements do not move cargo, logistics systems do,” SEREC said, pointing to structural weaknesses in road haulage, port evacuation, inland connectivity and, most critically, cargo aggregation and consolidation, which according to the group, continue to inflate costs for Nigerian shippers.

According to SEREC, cargo consolidation—the aggregation of smaller shipments into cost-efficient freight units, must move from an ad-hoc operational tool to a national trade strategy, especially in an economy where AfCFTA trade is dominated by SMEs, agricultural produce and light manufacturing.

Despite Nigeria’s logistics and freight forwarding market being valued at about $6.47 billion in 2025, and its air freight market at $8.18 billion, the absence of structured consolidation systems, the maritime think-tank argued, has left exporters facing higher per-unit freight costs, irregular sailings, indirect routing through non-African hubs and weaker delivery-time competitiveness.

 “In effect, Nigeria produces cargo but exports the logistics value chain,” the group noted, citing offshore consolidation of Nigerian cargo and foreign dominance of high-value express and consolidated freight.

SEREC acknowledged strong growth in the maritime sector, with Nigeria’s seaports recording a 45 per cent increase in throughput from 71.2 million metric tonnes in 2023 to about 103.3 million metric tonnes in 2024, while container handling rose by nearly 9.7 per cent.

However, it said the volume growth has not translated into proportional efficiency gains due to evacuation bottlenecks and weak hinterland connectivity, stressing that designated cargo consolidation hubs, particularly for short-sea African shipping, are essential to transforming port volumes into AfCFTA competitiveness.

While maritime transport accounts for over 97 per cent of the country’s export movements, SEREC said air transport remains severely underutilised, carrying only about 0.38 per cent of exports by value, roughly $45 million.

Yet, Nigeria’s air freight market is projected to grow to about $11.82 billion by 2031, revealing what SEREC described as a missed opportunity driven not by lack of demand, but by the absence of structured air cargo consolidation and dedicated cargo infrastructure.

In its white paper, SEREC called for deliberate incentives to encourage indigenous airlines to migrate, wholly or partially, into dedicated airfreight operations, arguing that cargo offers more stable and predictable revenues than passenger services.

 “AfCFTA-driven intra-African trade will significantly expand cargo volumes, and dedicated freighters support night operations, regional hubs and airline sustainability,” SEREC said.

The paper further proposed dedicated national air cargo airports, sea–air and air–sea corridors, bonded multimodal routes, and a National Multimodal Logistics Council to harmonise aviation, maritime, trade and customs policies.

It said beyond trade competitiveness, cargo consolidation offers a powerful economic multiplier, with each consolidation hub functioning as a logistics employment cluster that stimulates sustained commercial activity around ports and airports.

Concluding, the centre described cargo consolidation as “not merely a logistics practice but a national economic instrument,” warning that without it, Nigeria risks remaining a passive AfCFTA participant despite rising trade figures.

 “Nigeria cannot trade competitively in Africa without consolidating competitively at home,” the group stated, urging swift policy action to lock in jobs, retain logistics value and position the country as a continental trade and logistics anchor.