Reliability of liner shipping remains ‘unprecedentedly low’

Container shipping reliability improved slightly in March compared to the previous month, but remained at the lowest level since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis.

According to Sea-Intelligence, nearly 36% of ships arrive on schedule, which is slightly more than a third. This is still below the level of 2021, when performance was around 40%. Before the Covid-19 crisis, between 7 and 8 out of 10 ships arrived on time at their destination ports.

Average delays also improved slightly, from 8 days to more than 7 days, but are also higher than a year ago’s level of around six days. The Danish agency noted that the figures date from before the blockade of Shanghai, the world’s largest container port.

In its latest global liner shipping performance report, Sea-Intelligence said that from 2020 to the present, vessel scheduling accuracy has fallen to “unprecedented lows.” Shipping companies again canceled sailings in the first few months due to congestion in European and U.S. ports, the agency said.

The reliability of Hapag-Lloyd and Wan Hai fell from 40% to 20% and from 43% to 22%, respectively. Only three shipping companies did slightly better than a year ago. Maersk and Hamburg Süd, which have long led the rankings, both advanced about 2% to 51% and 46% respectively. Evergreen, long last in the rankings, has moved up a few spots and now scores just above 30%.