Shippers will consider longer contracts as reliability improves, but want more trust
With container lines now hitting greater levels of schedule reliability than for some time, shippers ...
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By Mike Wackett
Transport consultant Drewry’s Carrier Performance Insight (CPI) for April records a 4.1% improvement on the previous month in the aggregate reliability of ships on the main Asia-Europe, transpacific and transatlantic trades – but it was still a less than impressive 67.6%.
Drewry attributes the upswing to a return to “normal” operations at US west coast ports after the agreement of a new labour contract, and the bedding in of the new and upgraded vessel sharing alliances.
Simon Heaney, senior manager of supply ...
Comment on this article
CHAS DELLER
May 21, 2015 at 4:57 pmThe carriers argue that shippers will not pay for schedule reliability and are simply interested in price: they point to Maersk Line’s decision to abort its own premium service due to lack of support as evidence….
Two things – The daily Maersk was never seen as a ‘serious’ solution by the shipper community, or the effort to ‘pay more for certainty’. Having said that the current $1450 per 40ft rate SHA-LA is indicative of carriers now paying the price for delivering uncertainty.
Mike Wackett
May 22, 2015 at 9:53 amYes, agree Chas: the Daily Maersk was perhaps not the best example to use.
But it was an attempt by Maersk to offer something different other than the one shoe fits all commoditized rate that exists now.
Perhaps the ‘Matson way’ will catch on?
Chas Deller
May 22, 2015 at 6:03 pmWell Matson didn’t have to change anything during
the WC crisis , just kept doing their thing. Their model was clean and
uncomplicated. Fact is they wld not have stood out,
but for the crisis – and their income prospered.
Their rate soared to $3400 per 40ft SHA-LA.
Short term they looked super.
Fact is most carriers still sell
rates over performance –