07 October
2024
The carrier's schedule reliability stabilized in 2024 after upheavals caused by deviations in the Red Sea and problems in the Panama Canal. With additional vessel launches and management, carriers were able to break even after significant declines in 2023, but that is before the expected effects of the US East Coast/Gulf Coast port strike that begins at midnight tonight, September 30.
"The reliability of the schedule in 2024 has stabilized in the range of 50 to 55 percent," emphasizes Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence. "While disappointingly low, this year's minimal volatility gives shippers a relatively good idea of what to expect each month."
In August 2024, global schedule reliability improved by just 0.7 percentage points for the month to 52.8 percent. That was the smallest percentage shift in 2024, but it was down more than 10 percentage points from a year ago. The year-to-date average for 2024 is just over 53 percent, compared to 62 percent in 2023.
Carriers had to deal with diversions from the Red Sea, which saw schedule reliability drop to just over half of all vessels in January 2024, compared to over 62 percent in November 2023. Now they are faced with a similar problem that could stop many vessels in the eastern United States. coast as the International Seamen's Association plans to strike at more than 30 ports tonight. Atlantic trades have limited options for diversion, with carriers reporting that they plan to anchor vessels first.
In August, the volume of traffic jams also remained stable. According to Sea-Intelligence, the average delay for overdue vessels remained at just over five-and-a-quarter days in August, largely unchanged over four months. However, the industry has recovered from delays exceeding six days in January 2024. However, this is still far less than the 4.7 days reported in August 2023.
The current average delay for late ship arrivals, Murphy notes, was “exceeded only by the peak of the 2021 pandemic. 2022". However, that number will rise sharply in October if ships continue to await a decision on the strike at sea.
Productivity also varies significantly from industry targets. Maersk was the most reliable carrier of the top 13 in August 2024 with a schedule reliability of 54.7 percent, followed by Hapag-Lloyd with 54.3 percent. However, both carriers continue to reiterate their goal for the new network, which will be built with the Gemini Cooperation, to have a schedule reliability of more than 90 percent.
During August, Maersk's schedule reliability was virtually unchanged, while Hapag showed an improvement of more than 5 percentage points. Many top operators (COSCO, HMM, ONE, OOCL, Yang Ming) had significant month-on-month improvements. However, four carriers, including MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, showed declines in August, with PIL, Wan Hai and Zim showing the biggest declines for the month.