Container service reliability continues to rise

Container service reliability increased in June this year with the aggregate on-time performance for the three key East-West trades rising by 5.7 percentage points to extend the data-series record to 77.3% (May 2015 was 77.1%), said maritime analyst Drewry in its Carrier Performance Insight report.

Compared to June 2014, the on-time performance was higher by nearly 15 points, which is a reflection of the operational improvements brought about by the new, enlarged carrier alliances at the start of the year, said Drewry.

Maersk Line was the most reliable carrier in June with an on-time performance of 84.8%, with Evergreen only 0.1 point behind in second place. Hanjin took third spot with 84.5%.

Drewry’s data shows that the gap between the best and worst performing lines narrowed to around 26 points in June, when it was closer to 40 points in May. The least reliable carriers in June were Wan Hai (60.8%) and Zim (59.0%).

“The converging on-time scores is perhaps an indication that even carriers that have overlooked the importance of reliability in terms of marketing and customer retention are recognising their previous mistake,” said Simon Heaney, senior manager of supply chain research at Drewry.

“Drewry expects carriers to maintain the current upwards trend for reliability as they look to impress shippers in order to keep hold of market share in a potentially weaker peak season.”