SeaIntel: Container shipping reliability falls again in February

Taiwanese ocean carrier Wan Hai had the highest on-time performance score out of the top 20 ocean carriers during the month at 82.9 percent, according to Denmark-based consulting firm SeaIntel Maritime Analysis’ Global Liner Performance report.    Container shipping companies had a global average on-time performance score of 76.6 percent in February, a 2.6 percent decline from January, according to Denmark-based consulting firm SeaIntel Maritime Analysis’ March 2016 Global Liner Performance report.
   Schedule reliability in February, which was based on 11,620 vessel arrivals recorded throughout the month, declined for the third consecutive month. However, February’s result was up 4.7 percent year-over-year.
   The seasonal decrease in schedule reliability around this time of the year can be attributed to bad weather conditions and blank sailings, SeaIntel Shipping Analyst Eligio Fanigliulo explained. Blank sailings may result in carriers adding an extra call along the service route on another voyage, leading to delays at other port calls.
   Out of the top 20 carriers, Wan Hai had the best on-time performance score during the month at 82.9 percent, followed by Hamburg Süd at 82.3 percent and ZIM at 81.9 percent.
   CSCL had the worst on-time performance score at 70.9 percent, followed by COSCO at 73 percent and Yang Ming at 73.8 percent.
   “On a year-over-year level, the majority of carriers have actually improved their performances, with the exception of Maersk Line and Hamburg Süd, which performed 3.9 and 2.2 percentage points lower compared to February 2015,” Fanigliulo said. However, both carriers still appeared much more reliable than the majority of other carriers in February 2016, with Hamburg Süd coming in second place for on-time performance and Maersk Line coming in sixth place.
   Meanwhile, for vessels that did arrive late in February, their average delay dropped to 3.04 days, compared to 3.21 days in January and 5.33 days in February 2015. Delays in February 2015 largely resulted from congestion at U.S. West Coast ports, SeaIntel said.
   On the Asia to North Europe trade, schedule reliability dropped 7.6 percent year-over-year in February to an on-time performance score of 65.4 percent. MSC and Maersk Line were the most reliable carriers on the trade, with an on time performance score of 82.6 percent and 81.8 percent, respectively.