Container schedule reliability hit new low in December 2021

Photo: CMA CGM CMA CGM and APL vessels at berth
Global container line schedule reliability hit its lowest ever point in December 2021, according to a Sea-Intelligence report.

Schedule reliability of 32.0% in December 2021 was 1.2% lower than the previous month, 12.5% lower than December 2020, and the lowest since measurements began in 2011.

“Despite the low schedule reliability in 2021, there hasn’t been much fluctuation, with the global scores hovering between 32%-40% for the most part,” said Alan Murphy, CEO, Sea-Intelligence. The analyst found that the average delay for late arrivals rose to 7.33 days; the figure has been above seven days for five straight months.

Performance between carriers varied dramatically; Maersk schedule reliability of 46.2% was the highest in the top 14 carriers, followed by Hamburg Süd with 41.4%. Evergreen was bottom of the table at 14.3%.

“Nine carriers recorded a M/M improvement in schedule reliability, while no carrier recorded a Y/Y improvement in schedule reliability, with all but four carriers recording double-digit Y/Y declines,” said Murphy.

The figures were taken from the latest Global Liner Performance (GLP) report, which covers shecudle reliability across 34 trade lanes and over 60 carriers.

Despite record-low reliability levels, container lines have recorded record-high profits in recent quarters as supply chain congestion and delays limit the availability of container slots and market capacity struggles to meet demand.

TAGS: Ports