Shipping schedule reliability hits lowest level since February 2025

September 6 ------ Global container shipping reliability took a sharp turn for the worse in July 2026, falling to its lowest level of the year, according to Sea-Intelligence.

Schedule reliability dropped 6.1 percentage points month on month to 56.4% in July, marking the weakest performance recorded in 2026 and the lowest level since February 2025. Compared with July 2025, reliability was down 8.8 percentage points.

Delays also lengthened. The average delay for vessels arriving late increased by 0.59 days from June to 6.06 days—the highest level recorded in 2026 and the worst since January 2024. Year on year, the average delay was 1.34 days higher.

Among the 13 leading carriers tracked by Sea-Intelligence, Maersk was the most reliable in July, recording schedule reliability of 73.7%. Hapag-Lloyd followed at 69.3%. Maersk was the only carrier to exceed the 70% mark, while Hapag-Lloyd was the only other carrier in the 60–70% range.

Five carriers recorded reliability between 50% and 60%, while Wan Hai ranked last at just 29.8%.

The deterioration was widespread. None of the 13 carriers recorded a month-on-month improvement in schedule reliability in July, with MSC suffering the steepest decline, down 11.9 percentage points.

The year-on-year picture was equally stark: no carrier improved, while Wan Hai posted the largest decline, falling 24.4 percentage points.

Source: safety4sea.com