Improved reliability of global container shipping schedules

Container shipping schedule reliability improved in February as diversions from the Red Sea to avoid Houthi attacks began to normalize.

Analysts from Sea-Intelligence report an improvement in global shipping schedule reliability for container lines in February 2024, up 1.7 percentage points from January to 53.3%.

“After a few weeks of turmoil following the Red Sea crisis, stability has returned, with the route through Africa now returning to normal,” commented Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence.

However, while schedule reliability improved month-on-month, the situation in the Red Sea reduced reliability by 6.9 percentage points compared to the same month in 2023.

The most reliable container line in February 2024 among the top 13 was Hapag-Lloyd with a schedule reliability of 54.9%. Sea-Intelligence added that seven more carriers exceeded the 50% threshold, with the rest falling between 40% and 50%.

The lowest among the top carriers was Pacific International Lines (PIL) with a score of 45.3%.

The average global schedule reliability was 53.3%, still down from 64.4% in September last year, and a peak of 66.8% in May 2023.

The major carriers have now fixed the Cape of Good Hope route for the future, with adjusted schedules becoming the norm in most cases and showing no signs of resolving the situation.

Commenting on schedule reliability in a report for Baltic Exchange, Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, said: “The expectation is for further improvement in the coming months as vessels are now settled into new services via Africa, where average times are expected to be longer, but that will allow services to be delivered more punctually under these new schedules.”

Source: Phaata.com (According to Sea-Intelligence)