Containership Reliability

Usually when a shipper speaks to a freight forwarder about booking their shipments, total price is certainly a major point or the most important point that the shipper cares about. While a lower shipping rate does have its business benefits, you should never have to sacrifice the quality of the service. The reason for this is because it is important your ocean freight container arrives safely and on time. The publication of Maritime Executive reports that containership reliability has dramatically changed in 2013, with the concluding quarter below 64% on-time reliability. This study is from Drewry’s Carrier Performance Insight report. The real weak spot included the trading between Asia and Europe.

Shippers should be concerned about the issue of containership reliability and how it impacts their freight. There are many reasons why reliability issues occur right now. It seems that many carriers are more focused on cutting costs and certain services are being sacrificed. There is an issue of questionable availability of freight as well. Longer transit times, lost ships at sea, canceled trips and delays at the port caused some of the shipping reliability issues.

In the published report, Maersk had the highest carrier reliability rating near 80% and MSV had the lowest carrier reliability rating at 48%. When using instant freight quote software, shippers can compare rates between leading carriers and choose who might be the most reliable. While cost is a big factor in international freight shipping, shippers should demand that their carriers improve on reliability before its too late.