Container schedule reliability edges up to 50.6% as ships return to Suez

The share of container ships arriving on schedule reached 50.6% in September, a slight increase from 49.9% in August but still near the lowest level in about four years, according to a Sea-Intelligence report published on 28 October.

Late ships were delayed by an average of 6.65 days, compared with 6.81 days in August, and none of the 13 largest shipping lines improved year on year. Reliability remained far from the 64.5% recorded in May.

The report attributed the disruption to congestion at Asian ports, with regional schedule reliability falling to 32.3% in August, 23.9% in China, and 12.2% and 16.9% in Shanghai and Ningbo respectively. Sea-Intelligence said congestion has begun to ease at major Chinese ports, but bottlenecks and vessel pile-ups continue to pressure schedules.

By contrast, Alphaliner estimated that about two-thirds of container capacity on the Asia-Europe route has returned to sailing through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Maersk's canal transits rose from 146 to 276 ships between January and September 2026, and the company aims to restore its full Suez network by March 2027.

What do these terms mean?

Schedule reliability: The share of ships arriving at port on the agreed schedule, used as a measure of shipping line efficiency.

Suez Canal: A waterway linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean that shortens the voyage between Asia and Europe instead of sailing around Africa.

Capacity: The total space or tonnage available on ships to carry containers, whose rise or fall affects freight rates.