Global schedule reliability rises, yet cargo delays remain

Schedule reliability .. there's been a better start to 2026... (with a few caveats!)

January kicked off with global schedule reliability sitting at 62.4%. That's slightly down on December, but still the best monthly result we've seen across the 2021–2026 period, and a solid improvement compared to this time last year.

The flip side? When ships are late, they're arriving a little later than before. Average delays edged up to just over 5 days, which is the highest since early 2025. So, while more services are landing on time overall, delays still have a real impact when they happen.

Among the carriers, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk led the pack in January, with reliability just over 72%. A number of other lines sat in the 60–70% range, while PIL had the weakest result at just over 50%.

So what's the bottom line? Reliability is moving in the right direction overall, but we all know that it is still far from perfect. For everyone in the supply chain, buffers, additional planning, and clear communication remain just as important as ever.

It's not just the percentages that suffer when schedules slip, it's real cargo, with real consequences.

Image and source credit: Sea Intelligence