The reliability of global container shipping schedules has remained consistent in 2025, according to the latest Global Liner Performance report from Sea-Intelligence, published on 26 February 2025. The data reveals an ongoing trend, with container vessel punctuality rates fluctuating between 50% and 55%, mirroring the levels recorded in 2024. In January 2025, the punctuality rate stood at 51.5%, identical to that of the same month the previous year, although down by 2.1 percentage points compared to December 2024. Meanwhile, the average arrival delay decreased to 5.32 days, marking the lowest figure since July 2024 and showing improvement over the levels observed during the most critical years of the pandemic.
Among the world's thirteen leading carriers, Maersk remains the most reliable, with a punctuality rate of 55% in January 2025. Six other carriers also achieved performance levels above 50%, while the remaining six ranged between 46% and 50%. Notably, Yang Ming and OOCL recorded the lowest reliability in the sample, with a punctuality rate of 46.6%. One of the most striking trends highlighted in the report is the reduction in the gap between the most punctual and least reliable carriers, which has fallen below 8.5 percentage points. Such a narrow margin has not been seen since March 2017 and suggests a general improvement in operational efficiency across the sector.
Examining monthly variations, only four of the top thirteen carriers improved their reliability compared to December 2024. Among them, Wan Hai registered the most significant increase, with a rise of 3.7 percentage points. On an annual basis, however, seven carriers demonstrated improvement, with Maersk achieving a remarkable gain of 10.9 percentage points compared to January 2024.
