THERE have been calls for the global container shipping industry to establish a set of key performance indicators (KPI) for measuring crucial elements for shipping customers.

The biggest problem in setting KPIs for global supply chains is the lack of common performance standards and measurements of performance, according to Kuba Szymanski, secretary general of InterManager, which is investing US$10 million in developing a KPI grid for shipowners.

"Shippers are more concerned about port performance than costs," said Mary Brooks of Halifax Nova Scotia's Dalhousie University, another panel speaker at the Journal of Commerce's 6th Annual Canada Maritime Conference in Montreal. She said ports' performance indicators need to be vetted by third-party sources to validate their claims or they will be refused by shippers.

The KPI panelists praised the newly announced Daily Maersk service, which will offer a daily Asia-Europe container shipping service with a common cut-off time at four Asian ports and guarantee on-time delivery to four ports in Northern Europe.

"Daily Maersk will pull up the reliability performance of other carriers," Mr Szymanski said.

Maersk's transatlantic trade chief Soren Castbak said the Danish carrier will not charge a rate premium for its Daily Maersk service when it launches on October 24 from China, but may decide to do so at a later date, if the service proves popular with shippers.

Mr Castbak was cited as saying that the carrier has improved the on-time performance of its TA-4 service between Northern Europe and Montreal, from 80 per cent to 98 per cent by adding a fourth ship to the three-vessel string.

In a related issue the Maersk Line director said the company is considering whether to implement a global no-show penalty as on average 30 per cent of containers for which shippers have booked cargo space, fail to turn up at the port of departure.