Shipping line reliability declined in the fourth quarter of 2010 because of severe weather and port disruptions. Drewry Maritime Research’s Schedule Reliability Insight report shows that the percentage of vessels arriving at ports on the
day of or day before scheduled arrival in Q4 hit 55%, compared with 60%
in the previous quarter.
But fourth-quarter reliability was ahead of the 53% on-time rating for the same period in 2009.
Maersk Line was again rated the most reliable carrier, with an on-time score of 70.2%, down 8.7% on the previous quarter. APL took second place with 67.7%, down 6.1%, and HMM was third most reliable with 67.6%, a drop of 10.4%.
Editor of the report Simon Heaney said: “It is always difficult explaining fluctuations in service reliability, but considering the near universal declines, it is fair to say that most of the big carriers were caught out by the unusually bad weather and port disruptions in the fourth quarter.
“Hopefully, these worse-than-expected results were just a blip, caused by events outside of carriers’ control.
“From talking to carriers, we know that many view reliability as a key differentiator, so we would expect that to translate into higher on-time percentages in the near future.
“We certainly urge shippers to make schedule integrity a key component in the next round of global tenders.”
MOL, K Line and CSAV were the only major carriers that managed to improve their reliability in the fourth quarter, with CSAV achieving the biggest rise of 9.9 points from 35.6% in the third quarter.
Services on the transpacific trade managed a fourth-quarter on-time percentage of 64%, Asia-Europe/Med services slipped to 50% reliability, while transatlantic services registered on-time reliability of 55%.
Drewry anticipates that first-quarter 2011 reliability will suffer due to the current political protests in Egypt, as liner operations face extensive delays, even if the Suez Canal remains open.
Historically, industry averages have ranged between 50-60%. A high of 68% was recorded in the second quarter of 2009, while a low of 46% was struck in the first quarter of 2007.
But fourth-quarter reliability was ahead of the 53% on-time rating for the same period in 2009.
Maersk Line was again rated the most reliable carrier, with an on-time score of 70.2%, down 8.7% on the previous quarter. APL took second place with 67.7%, down 6.1%, and HMM was third most reliable with 67.6%, a drop of 10.4%.
Editor of the report Simon Heaney said: “It is always difficult explaining fluctuations in service reliability, but considering the near universal declines, it is fair to say that most of the big carriers were caught out by the unusually bad weather and port disruptions in the fourth quarter.
“Hopefully, these worse-than-expected results were just a blip, caused by events outside of carriers’ control.
“From talking to carriers, we know that many view reliability as a key differentiator, so we would expect that to translate into higher on-time percentages in the near future.
“We certainly urge shippers to make schedule integrity a key component in the next round of global tenders.”
MOL, K Line and CSAV were the only major carriers that managed to improve their reliability in the fourth quarter, with CSAV achieving the biggest rise of 9.9 points from 35.6% in the third quarter.
Services on the transpacific trade managed a fourth-quarter on-time percentage of 64%, Asia-Europe/Med services slipped to 50% reliability, while transatlantic services registered on-time reliability of 55%.
Drewry anticipates that first-quarter 2011 reliability will suffer due to the current political protests in Egypt, as liner operations face extensive delays, even if the Suez Canal remains open.
Historically, industry averages have ranged between 50-60%. A high of 68% was recorded in the second quarter of 2009, while a low of 46% was struck in the first quarter of 2007.