Maersk Line (MAERSKB), the world’s biggest container shipper, said last year that punctuality was poised to replace pricing as the industry’s key battleground. Less than 12 months on, delivery delays are worsening.
Only 63.7 percent of boxes were on time in the first 20 weeks, versus 65.9 percent a year earlier, according to INTTRA, a U.S. e-commerce platform which handles 525,000 shipments a week. That means 2012 may fall short of 2011’s 66.5 percent on- time delivery rate and the 68.8 percent level achieved in 2010.
