APL reports transpacific reliability performance

APL reports transpacific reliability performance    Liner carrier APL has begun reporting results of its internal accounting of schedule reliability for each of its four eastbound transpacific services, 99 sailings in all.
   The information is released in APL’s quarterly customer newsletter, Global Horizons. From February through June, all four have been 100 percent on time with the exception of the two winter weather delays.
   'And in both of those cases, heavy March fog in Asia kept them from sailing on time,' the line said. In January, four vessels missed their windows.
   'APL considers vessels on-time when they berth within four hours of scheduled arrival,' the carrier said. 'Most publicly available vessel reliability data uses a more forgiving same-day arrival benchmark. That makes it easier to be 'on-time' but weakens the reliability measure for shippers.'
   American Shipper reported on the issue of schedule reliability, and the relative lack of industry-wide measurements available, in its May issue.
   Maersk Line has recently touted its improving schedule reliability by citing data from Drewry Shipping Consultants. The Danish line said earlier this year it is seeking 95 percent on-time performance globally. According to Drewry, which tracks schedule reliability for 1,600 ships in 10 ports worldwide and defines 'on-time' as arriving on the scheduled day or one day early, Maersk achieved 75 percent reliability in the second quarter, far and away the best among lines it surveyed.

Widdows

   As described in the May American Shipper report, APL has a narrower definition for what constitutes on-time arrival. A ship may be due to arrive early in the morning on a specific day, but may actually arrive at 11:59 p.m. that same day and be considered on-time by most measures.
   “Our service is not perfect, but it is improving,” said Ron Widdows, chief executive officer of APL parent company, NOL Group, in a note to customers. “Through this quarterly reliability report, shippers will be able to measure the progress, and we welcome the scrutiny.” ' Eric Johnson