zoomIllustration; Source: Unsplash/Cameron Venti

The overall ocean schedule reliability for the third quarter of 2019 was 75.7%, slightly higher than in the second quarter of the year, according to intelligence provider CargoSmart.

The peak of on-time schedule reliability was 80.2% in July 2019. It then dropped to 73.8% in August and remained at a similar level at 73.1% in September 2019.

Comparing 2019 and 2018, the monthly reliability was higher and fluctuated less in the third quarter of 2019 compared to the same period a year earlier.

When looking at the schedule reliability on 25 trade lanes, CargoSmart said that Intra Middle East, Europe-Middle East, and Intra South America had the highest schedule reliability in the quarter, with average reliability of 93.1%, 89.1%, and 88.6% respectively.

When comparing the schedule reliability to the second quarter of the year, 13 of the 25 trade lanes decreased. The Intra Europe, Europe-Middle East, and Intra North America had the biggest increases, while Africa-North America, Africa-Middle East, and North America-Oceania dropped the most with Intra Africa continuing to have the lowest quarterly reliability.