Container service reliability declined for the second quarter in a row during the first quarter of 2011, according to Drewry Maritime Research's latest Schedule Reliability Insight report.

The proportion of the 2,972 vessel calls arriving on time at selected ports around the world during the January-though-March period fell to 51 percent, down from 55 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. The first quarter 2011 reliability performance was only a percentage point improvement on the on-time score recorded in the same period of 2010.

"Despite showing the biggest decrease, the trans-Pacific trade remained the most reliable of the three major east/west routes," Drewry said.

Reliability in the trans-Pacific went from 64 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 55 percent in the first quarter of 2011. In comparison, Asia/Europe/Med services dropped one point to 49 percent, while transatlantic services went from 55 percent to 52 percent.

"The decline in service reliability during the first quarter of 2011 mirrors the sharp fall in freight rates that lines have had to endure," Drewry said. "The synchronization of freight rates with reliability is something that has been evident since the first quarter of last year."

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