Containership reliability ends 2014 on a downer as performance slumps

© Khunaspix Dreamstime.

Severe congestion maybe the excuse, but container line reliability fell in December for the second month in a row and recorded the worst on-time performance since last August. The aggregate performance for the three main trades dropped to 58% in the last month of the year. The worst lane was the transatlantic, which slumped to 46.3%. Maersk bucked the trend with a three-month average of 80%, followed by Hamburg Sud (75%) and Cosco (70%), while MSC showed off its new colours by rising 9 points to 61%. According to Drewry, the industry could see better results soon as slow winter demand and cheaper fuel prices may help box lines to catch up.