Despite improvements on some key trade lanes, schedule reliability in container shipping remains under pressure across much of the global liner market. Xeneta’s Quarterly Reliability Report published at the end of July shows that the global on-time performance is 39%, but there are big differences between individual shipping routes.
Some trades advanced significantly, while others fell behind with deteriorating reliability and persistent delays, reflecting the uneven recovery across the container shipping segment.
The East Coast South America and Far East-Europe trades were among the strongest performers, with schedule reliability improving by 17% and 13% respectively. These positive results are in stark contrast to weaker performances on routes serving Oceania and Africa, both of which had a deterioration in reliability in the same period.
Also, trade in the Middle East improved by 5% but overall punctuality remained low at only 25%, illustrating the continued operational difficulties in the region.
In terms of transit delays, both the Middle East and Africa recorded modest improvements, with average delays falling by approximately half a day to 4.9 days and 4.1 days, respectively. Conversely, delays in Oceania were longer, with average delays up to 0.8 days longer to 3.3 days
Things were looking better on the world’s busiest container corridors. Lower blank sailings enhanced schedule reliability for the Far East–United States trade and the transatlantic route to 42% and 41%, respectively. Average delays on both trades, meanwhile, slipped to about 2.2 days.
The latest numbers show gradual improvement in operations on a number of key shipping lanes, but Xeneta’s data shows the recovery in schedule reliability remains patchy. There are still significant regional variations that continue to affect the predictability of service and supply chain planning by shippers and logistics providers worldwide.
