Drewry: Liner reliability falls in Q1

Drewry: Liner reliability falls in Q1    Container service reliability declined for the second quarter in a row during the first quarter of 2011, according to Drewry Maritime Research’s latest Schedule Reliability Insight report.
   The proportion of the 2,972 vessel calls arriving on time at selected ports around the world during the January-though-March period fell to 51 percent, down from 55 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. The first quarter 2011 reliability performance was only a percentage point improvement on the on-time score recorded in the same period of 2010.
   ‘Despite showing the biggest decrease, the transpacific trade remained the most reliable of the three major east/west routes,’ Drewry said.
   Reliability in the transpacific went from 64 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 55 percent in the first quarter of 2011. In comparison, Asia/Europe/Med services dropped one point to 49 percent, while transatlantic services went from 55 percent to 52 percent.
   ‘The decline in service reliability during the first quarter of 2011 mirrors the sharp fall in freight rates that lines have had to endure,’ Drewry said. ‘The synchronization of freight rates with reliability is something that has been evident since the first quarter of last year.’
   Having led the major carriers in 10 of the previous 11 quarters, Maersk Line ceded the top spot this time around to CSAV. The Chilean carrier managed to improve its on-time percentage sharply to 69.1 percent, up from 45.5 percent in the last quarter of 2010. Maersk’s on-time average slipped from 70.2 percent to 66.4 percent, good enough for third place. APL was second, at 67.6 percent, little changed from 67.7 percent in the previous quarter.
   The lowest-ranked top 20 carriers were China Shipping (40.1 percent), United Arab Shipping Co. (39.8 percent) and Hanjin Shipping (38.8 percent).
   Only seven of the Top 20 container lines were able to equal or beat the 51 percent on-time industry average and only four bettered their scores from the previous quarter, Drewry said. The most improved carriers were CSAV (up by 23.6 percentage points), Hamburg S’d (up 11 percent), and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (up 6.6 percent). The biggest declines came from were UASC (down by 17.2 percentage points), OOCL (13.1 percent down) and Hyundai Merchant Marine (11.6 percent down).

Heaney

   ‘Drewry cannot speculate whether carriers are consciously rewarding or punishing their customers with varying service quality dependent on prices, but it can be assumed that low rates reduce the incentive to deliver above-average service reliability,’ said Simon Heaney, editor of Schedule Reliability Insight. ‘Compounding the problem, escalating fuel prices mean that carriers are probably less inclined right now to speed up if the ship falls behind schedule.’
   Heaney also said the first quarter was punctuated with numerous service changes and additions, with the tinkering of service networks doing little to aid reliability in the short term.
   Not for the first time, the report revealed a sizable gap between the best- and worst-performing lines. Focusing on the top 20 carriers (as ranked by vessel TEU capacity) that provide the bulk of the vessels tracked, the on-time difference between the leading carriers and the lowest-ranked carriers was in the region of 30 percentage points.
   Drewry has been monitoring container service reliability since the end of 2005. Historically, industry averages have ranged between 50 percent to 60 percent with a high of 68 percent and a low of 46 percent. ‘ Eric Johnson