In general Sierra Leone has a limited commercial transport capacity and most of the transporters own a limited number of trucks. The transporters accept to deliver goods from Freetown to major towns in the country. Due to the poor road conditions and the reluctance of the commercial transporters to carry any deliveries from the warehouses to the final delivery points, WFP maintains its own fleet of trucks (DAF and Mercedes). In addition, some UN Agencies and NGOs have a very limited transport capacity.

Sierra Leone Indigenous Transport Owners Association (ITOA) is the main private transport service provider for Freetown and several urban and rural centres.

Transport services are mainly performed on a one-off contractual basis.  Agricultural commodities such as palm oil, cocoa, rice and coffee are the main transport products, as well as livestock.  Mining companies such as AML, LMP and Sierra Leone Rutile also use road transporters for outbound transport of minerals and for the inbound transport of containers. 

According to a World Bank study in 2011, the road freight costs in Sierra Leone are much higher than some major routes in sub-Saharan Africa both within the country and across borders. For example, it can vary from $0.09 USD per km up to $0.16 USD per km within the country to reach $0.21 USD per km across border. (Source: Sierra Leone Diagnostic Trade Integration Study Update 2013)

For more information concerning the transporters and their capacities, please see the following link: 4.8 Sierra Leone Transporter Contact List