A recent logistics briefing by Drewry Supply Chain Advisors articulates how carrier alliances could be helping shipping lines to increase their reliability.
A case in point was the 2M alliance, with both 2M members Maersk and MSC both seeing higher reliability percentages after 2M had begun operations, which is said to be as a result of Maersk’s solid performance pre-alliance.
Maersk’s on-time average performance between February and June 2015 was 82%, compared to 78% in the previous nine months before 2M started.
In contrast, MSC’s average on-time performance increased by around 10% since the start of the 2M alliance to a total of 64%.
Therefore, based on the initial data, 2M appears to be guided by Maersk’s operational principles and that they are rubbing off on its partner to the benefit of shippers.
The improvements to reliability have not been limited to the 2M lines as the overall on-time performance has been trending upwards for some months.
Drewry found that the aggregate on-time performance for the three key East-West trades has risen in five of the last six months to a record of 77% in June, 2015 and believes this is a reflection of the operational improvements brought about by the new alliances at the start of 2015.
The gap between the best and worst performing lines narrowed to around 26% in June, 2015 when it had been closer to 40 points in May of the same year.
The Drewry View: Drewry expects carriers to maintain the current upwards trend as they look to impress shippers in order to keep hold of market share in a potentially weaker peak season.
