Transport companies do not come any bigger than Imperial Holdings - a transport hub housing car dealerships, vehicle rental, finance & insurance and aviation. And not too many SA groups rake in more than R40bn in turnover.

Imperial has been one of the most consistent performers on the JSE in the past 10 years. Turnover has mushroomed from R6,4bn in 1996 to R42,5bn in 2005.

Financial results in the past year have been impressive, with operating profit rising by 22% to R2,1bn and earnings by 23% to R1,1bn.

For some years Imperial has been an all-round performer, with its logistics business contributing 27% of revenue in 2005, vehicle sales another 27%, leasing and fleet management 8% and aviation 6%.

Another angle on Imperial is that its dealerships were responsible for 16% of the more than 500 000 vehicles sold in SA during 2005.

Its performance on the JSE has been impressive, with the share gaining more than 80% in the past year, moving to about R165 at the beginning of May this year.

One of the keys to Imperial's success is that CEO Bill Lynch has a legendary eye for a good acquisition. Imperial recently snapped up MCC, SA's largest owner and operator of moving equipment used in heavy construction, road building and open-cast mining. There was also the acquisition of four Nissan dealerships in Sweden and a group of UK companies from RAC Plc, for about £50m on a debt-free basis.

A company that still has market conditions in its favour is shipping giant Grindrod. Its success comes on the back of a sustained strong international shipping market, and some smart management decisions - such as renting and buying ships at lower rates, then leasing them out at higher rates.

This has worked so far, but the market will not be rosy forever and Grindrod CEO Ivan Clark knows that.

At the moment, Grindrod is in the money, increasing its earnings by 56% to R851m in the year ending December 2005. Headline earnings per share rose 53% to 185c.

Since 2000, Grindrod hasdiversified its ship fleet, with a mix of ships employed in the spot market and on long-term charter.

It has almost 60% of its fleet (about 45 ships) contracted out for 2006, about 40% in 2007 and 20% in 2008.

Super Group would have to thank the bullish local vehicle retail market for its continued strong performance. Its turnover grew by more than R1bn due to strong vehicle sales. Net profit of R482m represented 33% growth from the previous year.

The continuing positive economic environment has been supportive of the sector, with vehicle sales on the upswing since 2003. The sector has also been supported by vehicle manufacturers, who have been launching a new car model almost every month in the past two years.

Unless these factors change for the worse in the coming months, the joyride in the transport sector will continue.