One of the major issues facing the massive alliance between Maersk Line, CMA CGM, and MSC is the fact that the three carriers are completely different when it comes to on-time arrivals, referring to whether customers receive their containers according to schedule. Or in the words, their reliability.”

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Reliability is one of the key issues being dealt with by the negotiation parties, says Vincent Clerc, Chief Trade & Marketing Officer at Maersk Line, to ShippinWatch.

“The P3 alliance can only have one reliability. That’s why this is one of the issues being negotiated right now, and we’re spending a lot of time on it, to make sure it becomes part of the mandate that will form the basis of the alliance,” says Vincent Clerc.

Customers involved

It’s too early to go into details about how to solve the issue at this time, but it’s a process that also involves the customers, explains Vincent Clerc. Reliability is a crucial competitive parameter in the container industry, and there are many actors looking at the carriers’ widely differing statistics. Some point to the fact that Maersk Line is putting its solid image as a reliable carrier on the line by joining an alliance as close as P3 with shipping companies which are having trouble staying on schedule.

These include SeaIntel, where partner and CEO Lars Jensen had the following comment for ShippingWatch in July:

“I’m still waiting for precise answers regarding how Maersk Line plans to ensure Daily Maersk without just sticking to the concept, and one could ask a similar question regarding reliability, where Maersk Line, as the most reliable carrier, is about to enter a partnership with MSC, which traditionally performs at the opposite end of the scale.”

Best and worst

Maersk Line has occupied the first place among the 20 largest carriers in the world for years, with a reliability of more than 90 percent, while MSC has typically been ranked among the worst, even though the Swiss-owned carrier has improved its performance significantly in recent years. 

According to SeaIntel’s latest survey, the overall reliability of the industry increased by two percentage points from April to May, up to 81 percent. The survey covers 9,400 arrivals during May.

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