‘K’ Line latest to publish on-time performance stats

   The Japanese ocean carrier “K” Line on Wednesday released internal schedule reliability metrics on five trades for the months of April through June, with a comparison to the first quarter of 2012.
   “K” Line has joined a growing list of carriers that are reporting such information publicly, including compatriot line MOL and Singapore’s APL.
   “K” Line provided on-time percentage data on the Asia-U.S. West Coast, Asia-U.S. East Coast, Asia-Northern Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, and intra-Asia trade. Like MOL, the carrier breaks up on-time performance by ships it operates, and all ships on services in which it participates.
   On the Asia-U.S. West Coast lane, overall reliability increased from 76 percent in the first quarter to 89 percent in the second quarter. For “K” Line-operated ships on the trade, the percentage rose from 67 percent to 82 percent.
   On the Asia-U.S. East Coast lane, overall on-time performance rose marginally, from 79 to 80 percent, but increased from 61 percent to 92 percent for “K” Line-operated ships.
   On the Asia-Northern Europe, overall reliability rose from 83 percent to 85 percent in the second quarter, while “K” Line-operated vessels improved from 77 percent to 96 percent.
   On-time reliability actually fell from 80 percent to 76 percent on the Asia-Med lane from the first to second quarter, but “K” Line ships’ performance was slightly improved, from 82 percent to 83 percent.
   Finally, overall intra-Asia reliability declined from 72 percent to 70 percent in the second quarter, with “K” Line ships also suffering a drop in performance, from 69 percent to 65 percent.
   “K” Line said it considers a ship on time if it berths within 24 hours of the announced schedule.
   The carrier said performance improved on most lanes due to a restructuring of services and relief from winter weather factors. – Eric Johnson