Box shipping lines have enhanced their on-time reliability for the fourth consecutive month in May, showing increased punctuality particularly on the trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic lanes, according to Drewry Supply Chain Advisors’ Carrier Performance Insight.
Liners’ aggregate on-time performance for the three core East-West trades jumped by 4 percentage points for the month to reach a new data-series high of 71.6%, said Drewry.
The latest monthly increase follows a similar rise in April and stems from a moderate improvement in Asia-Europe container service reliability and much better performances in the trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic routes.
Maersk Line retained its status as the most reliable carrier with an on-time performance of 85% in May. G6 Alliance carriers Nippon Yusen Kaisha with 78.9%, Orient Overseas Container Line with 78.7%, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines with 77.4% were the next best carriers in reliability. At the other end of the table were Zim with 51.1% punctuality rate and Wan Hai with 46.3%.
“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,” said Simon Heaney, senior manager of supply chain research at Drewry. “The downside from this scenario is that carriers will look to redress the supply-demand imbalance through void sailings.”
Photo: Robin Maben
