Ocean carriers receive ‘poor to average’ quality rating, survey finds

Shippers, forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers are concerned about carriers’ financial stability, quality of customer service and reliability, according to a joint survey by Drewry and the European Shippers’ Council.    A new poll of shippers, forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) has given ocean carriers a service quality rating of “poor to average,” Drewry said.
   The survey of 189 shippers, and 82 freight forwarders and NVOCCs was conducted jointly by Drewry and the European Shippers’ Council (ESC) in March, asking respondents how satisfied they were with attributes of the services provided by ocean carriers in 2016.
   Broken down by location, 62.6 percent of the respondents were from Europe, 18.5 percent were from Asia and 11.3 percent were from North America.
   On a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied), customers on average did not rate carriers higher than 3.3 for any of the 16 service attributes, the survey showed.
   Respondents were mostly dissatisfied with carrier financial stability, the quality of customer service, and reliability of booking/cargo shipped as booked.
   On the flip side, respondents were most satisfied with the price of services, accurate documentation and the quality of equipment (containers).
   Nearly 80 percent feel carrier financial stability is worse than a year earlier, and more than half say the range of different available carriers for them is worse.
   “We see that shippers want to be treated not only as customers, but also as partners, when discussing their container transport requirements. In times when supply chains are becoming more and more complex, partnership is of key importance and unfortunately it is missing,” said Fabien Becquelin, maritime policy manager at ESC. “Comparing transport modes, the air freight industry is suffering from similar problems to the container shipping industry, but it came to the conclusion that partnership is the only way out and is reaching out to the shippers.”
   “Shippers and forwarders clearly see the necessity for the carrier industry to invest in IT and to balance the needs for cost competitiveness and for more predictability and reliability,” said Philip Damas, head of Drewry’s logistics practice.