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Liner schedule reliability improved for the fourth consecutive month in May as the aggregate on-time performance for the three core East-West trades jumped by 4 percentage points to reach a new data-series high of 71.6%, according to Drewry’s Carrier Performance Insight.

The latest monthly increase follows a similar rise in April, resulting from a moderate improvement in Asia-Europe container service reliability and much better performances in the Transpacific and Transatlantic routes, Drewry said.

Maersk Line retained its status as the most reliable carrier with an on-time performance of 85% in May. G6 carriers NYK (78.9%), OOCL (78.7%) and MOL (77.4%) were the next best carriers in the reliability rankings. At the other end of the table were Zim (51.1%) and Wan Hai (46.3%).

“The continued improvement in container service reliability is encouraging news for shippers, who could be said to be getting much better value for money from carriers at present considering that reliability is at a peak while spot freight rates are at historical lows,” said Simon Heaney, senior manager of supply chain research at Drewry.

“The downside from this scenario is that carriers will look to redress the supply-demand imbalance through void sailings.”