Shipping Line Reliability and Punctuality

I first wrote about this 18 months ago and wanted to revisit as there has been a huge amount of change in the shipping industry. Lines have gone, joined together and new companies born since my last blog. All in the name of greater efficiencies and lower costs. There is no doubt there has been little sign of increased rates but has there been any evidence of improved efficiencies?

Well the news is not good. In a report commissioned by Drewry and the European Shippers’ Council (ESC), the survey showed satisfaction levels of the service has now dropped to 3.2 out of 5 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest).

Data provided by CargoSmart showed reliability was also down to 66.6% in July this year. When I last looked at this it was 69.6%

9 of the 13 trade lanes covered were down on previous months. The highest rated trade was 80% (Middle East) and the lowest 49.8% (Africa).

Is it time the shipping lines focused their minds on reliability over volume? An interesting article on Lloyd's Loading List asks just that.

Would we accept 50% reliability on other services we buy, let alone the top rated 80%?