Ocean: Full steam ahead on service

As executive editor Patrick Burnson has reported over the past several years, it seems that ocean carriers have found themselves navigating through heavy storms quarter after quarter, from imbalanced capacity issues to alliance building to the recent announcement of the introduction of “emergency” bunker surcharges in response to rising fuel costs.

In fact, if you’re currently moving any freight over the high seas, Burnson’s annual Ocean Cargo Roundtable is required reading this month. “Our panelists take a deep dive into the state of the alliances, update us on the ongoing digitization of ocean cargo movement, and offer ocean shippers practical advice for securing needed capacity at rates that are manageable,” he says of this year’s discussion.

The bottom line, adds Burnson, is that when you throw the continued escalation of trade war banter on top of all the other challenges facing ocean carriers and shippers, you find a sector that’s a churning stew of volatility—and one that needs to be closely monitored.

Yet, even through these unsettled seas, the fact remains that the readers of Logistics Management tell us that the 12 carriers listed below have persevered through the storms of the past year and have delivered world-class service on their way to receiving Quest for Quality gold.

Pulling into port with the highest weighted average in the category this year is Zim Integrated Shipping Services, posting an impressive 50.38. Interestingly, while Zim’s overall average led the way, other winning carriers posted highest scores in the individual attribute categories.

Hyundai Merchant Marine put up the top mark in On-time Performance (12.61); Tote Maritime Puerto Rico posted and impressive 12.60 in Value and a category-leading 10.65 in Information Technology; Yang Ming Line was voted top in the Customer Service attribute (11.00); and APL pulled in with a 9.06 to led the way in the Equipment & Operations category.