Liner reliability plummets amidst West Coast crisis and introduction of alliances

Reliability figures for liner services crashed to a record low in January, part of knock-on effects caused by US West Coast congestion and the phasing-in of new alliances according to global shipping consultancy, Drewry.

The overall on-time performance for the three key East-West trades slumped to a disappointing 48.6% in January, down by 9.4% compared to December, which itself was one of the worst months of 2014.

On a trade lane basis, the Transpacific (based on 3,351 voyages) was the worst offender with an on-time performance of just 36% in January, down from 47% in December.