Liner schedule reliability improved for the fourth consecutive month in May as the aggregate on-time performance for the three core East-West trades jumped by 4% to reach a new data-series high of 71.6%, according to Drewry Maritime Advisor’s latest Carrier Performance Insight report.
PTI previously reported that most shippers want to see reliability of service as opposed to speed, with Drewry arguing that with smart planning, shippers will have a regular flow of cargo.
The latest monthly increase follows a similar rise in April, 2015 and was the result of a moderate improvement in Asia-Europe container service reliability and much better performances in the Transpacific and Transatlantic routes.
Maersk Line retained its status as the most reliable carrier with an on-time performance of 85.0% in May, followed by G6 carriers NYK (78.9%), OOCL (78.7%) and MOL (77.4%).
Simon Heaney, Senior Manager of Supply Chain Research at Drewry, said: “The continued improvement in container service reliability is encouraging news for shippers, who could be said to be getting much better value for money from carriers at present considering that reliability is at a peak while spot freight rates are at historical lows.
“The downside from this scenario is that carriers will look to redress the supply-demand imbalance through void sailings.”
Building on Drewry’s long established schedule reliability benchmarking that started back in 2005, the new Carrier Performance Insight provides the ability to benchmark the reliability performance of container carriers on a port-to-port, trade lane, service and industry-wide basis.
