According to analysts Sea-Intelligence, overall container line schedule reliability dropped in January 2026 by -0.4 percentage points compared to December 2025 to 62.4%.
This made interesting reading for the U-Freight Group, with our strong presence in the global container shipping arena, and we note that the figures from the analyst’s regular Global Liner Report are based on schedule reliability for over 60 carriers on 34 major trades.
On a year-on-year level, schedule reliability was up 11.0 percentage points. The average delay for late vessel arrivals also deteriorated, increasing month-to-month by 0.07 days to 5.17 days. This is the highest figure since February 2025. On a year-on-year level, the January 2026 figure was -0.21 days lower.
Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk were the joint-most reliable top-13 carriers in January 2026 with schedule reliability of 72.2%. The following seven carriers were in the 60-70% range, while the remaining four carriers were in the 50-60% range. PIL was the least reliable carrier with schedule reliability of 50.1%.
U-Freight continues to monitor developments in global container shipping lanes closely. We remain committed to supporting customers with reliable, flexible transport solutions across air, sea and multimodal services, helping navigate route changes and maintain resilience in international supply chains.
For expert advice or further information on our ocean freight services, please contact your local U-Freight office or visit the ocean freight section of this website.
