Asian Port Bottlenecks Drive Severe Drop in Liner Schedule Reliability
Global container schedule reliability recorded its largest single-month contraction since early 2021 as port delays across Asia disrupted sailing timetables.
Global container shipping on-time performance experienced its sharpest month-on-month deterioration in more than five years during July, weighed down by escalating congestion at key Asian port hubs.
According to tracking data compiled by maritime consultancy Sea-Intelligence, global schedule reliability fell by 6.1 percentage points from June, settling at 56.4% for the month. The decline marks the steepest single-month drop in carrier timetable integrity recorded since January 2021.
Historical analysis reveals that declines of this scale remain exceptionally rare in the liner sector. Sea-Intelligence noted that global schedule reliability has experienced a comparable contraction on only eight occasions throughout the past 14 years.
The widespread disruption across major maritime gateways in Asia has severely extended vessel waiting times, destabilising weekly liner rotations and undermining service predictability across international trade lanes.
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