Liner schedule reliability improves in March

   Global liner carrier reliability increased from 78 percent in February to 79 percent in March, according to the latest figures from SeaIntel Maritime Analysis.
   Among the top 20 container carriers, the three top positions are unchanged, with Maersk Line in the lead followed by Hamburg Süd and APL.
   “The difference in global reliability across the top 20 carriers remains significant, with MSC at the bottom, arriving within a day of schedule in 64 percent of their arrivals versus Maersk Line at 93 percent,” SeaIntel said.
   SeaIntel considers a vessel on-time if it arrives within one day of its scheduled arrival (either before or after).
   The analyst noted, however, that global performance is not always a good indicator for trade lane performance. For example, MOL is the top performer from North America to South America at 96 percent, Deutsche Afrika Linien is the leader from North Europe to Africa at 75 percent, and Matson Navigation Co. is the top performer on the westbound Transpacific at 100 percent.
   The most significant improvement on a trade lane basis was seen in the southbound trade from North America to East Coast South America, where vessels were on time 80 percent, compared to 70 percent in February.
   The measurements are based on SeaIntel’s database of more than 68,000 arrivals since July 2011, across 2,200 vessels, 29 trade lanes and 52 carriers.