According to the latest Global Liner Performance report from maritime analyst Sea-Intelligence, global container shipping schedule reliability had a slight recovery in September after three months of declines.
The report said overall schedule reliability was 50.6% in September, an increase of 0.9 percentage points from the previous month. However, the improvement is still limited compared with May when reliability peaked at 64.5 per cent.
Sea-Intelligence did not provide a reason for the rebound in September. However, congestion at major Chinese ports, which have experienced serious disruption due to adverse weather conditions, has started to ease, which may be a help for better operations.
Despite the monthly rebound, the sector still has significant challenges ahead. None of the 13 largest container shipping lines improved schedule reliability compared to the same period a year ago.
Maersk, one of the top major container carriers
Maersk was the most reliable of the 13 leading container lines in September, with a schedule reliability of 64.8%.
Second place was taken by its partner in the Gemini Cooperation, Hapag-Lloyd, with a reliability rate of 60.4%. MSC was next at 57.7% and CMA CGM was at 51.8%.
Wan Hai was the worst performer among the 13 largest carriers at the bottom of the list, posting schedule reliability at just 26.7%.
MSC leads the alliance rankings
They also indicate varying performance levels of the leading shipping alliances and independent operators on major trade routes.
MSC came top in this comparison, with a reliability rating of 68.9%. It is the only major carrier that operates independently on the main trade routes, but partners up on individual routes.
Right behind it was the Gemini Cooperation with 68.4%. But that is still well below the 90% schedule reliability the alliance says it wants to hit.
Other major alliances had lower figures. Ocean Alliance had the highest reliability rate at 44.8%, while Premier Alliance was last with 41.5%.
The September figures thus indicate that the recovery in container shipping schedule reliability is only modest, with overall reliability still significantly below its May peak, and year-on-year performance still showing no improvement amongst the largest carriers.
